
Lecture Description
Practice trading with a free demo trading account: bit.ly/IT-forex-demo3
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Unlike the futures and equities markets, the forex market trades actively 24 hours a day with active trading hours following the sun around the globe to each of the major money centers.
As the foreign exchange market is an over the counter market where two counterparties can trade with each other whenever they want, technically the market never closes. Most electronic trading platforms however open for trading at around 5 PM Eastern Time on Sunday, which corresponds to the start of Monday's business hours in Australia and New Zealand. While there are certainly banks in these countries which actively make markets in foreign exchange, there is very little trading done in these countries when compared to other major money centers of the world.
The first major money center to open and there fore the start of the first major session in the forex market is the Asian Trading session which corresponds with the start of business hours in Tokyo at 7pm Eastern Time on Sunday.
While still considered 1 of the three major money centers, only 7.6% of forex transactions flow through Tokyo trading desks, so the Asian trading session is the least active of the three. While there is active trading in Yen based currency pairs during Asian hours the market for currencies outside of Yen based pairs is relatively thin, making Asian trading hours a time when the larger banks and hedge funds in the market will sometimes try and push the market in their favor.
Next in line is the European trading session which begins with the start of London business hours at 2 AM Eastern Standard Time. While New York is considered by most to be the largest financial center in the world, London is still king of the forex market with over 32% of all forex transactions taking place in the city. Before the Euro there were more than a dozen additional currencies in Europe making foreign exchange part of every day life for both individuals and businesses operating in the region. In addition to this, London is situated perfectly from a time zone standpoint with business hours for both the large eastern and western economies taking place during London trading hours.
As London is the most active session in the forex market it is also the session with the most volatility for all the currency pairs which we will be studying in this course.
Last but not least is the US session which begins with the start of New York business hours at 8 AM Eastern Standard Time. New York is a distant second to London in terms of forex trading volumes with approximately 19% of all forex transactions flowing through New York Dealing Rooms.
The most active part of the US Trading session, and the most active time for the forex market in general, is from about 8am to 12pm when both London and New York trading desks are open for business. You can see very large volatility during this time as in addition to both New York and London trading desks being open, most of the major US economic announcements are released during these hours as well.
The trading day winds down after 12pm New York time with most electronic platforms closing for business at around 4 PM Eastern Standard Time on Friday.
Course Index
- An Overview of the Forex Market
- The Difference Between Over the Counter (OTC) and Exchange-Based Markets
- Who Really Controls the Forex Market?
- The Role of the Retail Forex Broker
- How Central Banks Move the Forex Market
- How Banks, Hedge Funds, and Corporations Move Currencies
- A Breakdown of the Forex Trading Day
- Forex Trading - Characteristics of the Main Currencies
- Setting Up Your Forex Trading Software
- Forex Trading - How to Read a Currency Quote
- Forex Trading - Understanding Currency Rate Movements
- Forex Trading - Understanding the Bid/Ask Spread
- How to Place Your First Forex Trade
- How to Determine Your Position Size in the Forex Market
- Forex Trading - Pips and Fractional Pip Pricing
- How to Calculate Forex Trading Profits and Losses
- An Introduction to Leverage in Trading
- How Trading on Margin Works
- How to Calculate Leverage in the Forex Market
- How to Calculate Leverage in the Forex Market Part 2
- How to Place a Market Order in the Forex Market
- How to Place a Stop Loss and Take Profit Order in Forex
- How to Place A Pending Entry Order in the Forex Market
- How Rollover Works in Forex Trading
- How Rollover Works in Forex Trading Part 2
- Free Forex Charts Userguide
- What Moves the Forex Market? - Trade Flows
- How Capital Flows Move the Forex Market
- The Current Account: How Forex Traders Can Use it to Identify Opportunities
- Interpreting the Capital Account and Measuring Capital Flows
- Fundamentals that Move Currencies - Balance of Payments
- How Interest Rates Move the Forex Market Part 1
- How Interest Rates Move the Forex Market Part 2
- How To Trade the Carry Trade Strategy Part 1
- How To Trade the Carry Trade Strategy Part 2
- How To Trade the Carry Trade Strategy Part 3
- Fundamental Analysis Vs. Technical Analysis in Forex
- Forex Trading Fundamentals Quiz - Test Your Knowledge
- Why the US Dollar is Still King
- Determining the Fate of the US Dollar
- Determining the Fate of the US Dollar Part II
- Determining the Fate of the US Dollar, Part III
- Economic Releases that Move the US Dollar
- A Trader's Introduction to the Euro
- A Trader's Introduction to the Euro, Part II
- A Trader's Introduction to the Euro, Part III
- A Trader's Introduction to the Yen
- A Trader's Introduction to the Yen, Part II
- A Trader's Introduction to the Japanese Yen, Part III
- A Trader's Introduction to the British Pound
- A Trader's Introduction to the Swiss Franc
- A Trader's Introduction to the Canadian Dollar
- A Trader's Introduction to the Australian Dollar
- A Trader's Introduction to the New Zealand Dollar
- Why Choosing a Forex Broker is so Confusing
- Choosing a Forex Broker: Regulation and Financial Stability
- Choosing a Forex Broker Part III: Transaction Costs
- Choosing a Forex Broker, Part IV: Technology & Add-ons
- Choosing a Forex Broker: Evaluating Customer Service
- An Introduction to Forex Capital Markets (FXCM)
- An Introduction to DailyFX Plus
Course Description
This 61-video series is an introduction and in-depth look at the forex market, including how to place trades, the fundamentals of the forex market, profiles of the main currency pairs, and factors to consider when choosing a forex broker.
This is a continuation of The Basics of Trading course by Informed Trades.