The foreign exchange market, or forex market, can be a great place to invest your money, but like any market, it has its share of pitfalls. Too many traders jump right in without knowing what they are doing and end up losing their shirt. Before you start trading, read this advice.
Do not overstep your knowledge by being aggressive. If you are a beginning trader you should not get caught up in the desire to make windfalls off your first trades. Stick to a mini account that will get your feet wet and allow you to learn how to leverage your capital to best effect with minimal risk. Build your knowledge and your earnings should follow suit.
You are not alone when you decide to enter the forex market. There are many other traders sharing your experiences, your successes and your failures. Find an online community where you can communicate with your fellow traders. In this way your experience can benefit others, and you can also learn from their experiences.
When trading, try to avoid placing protective stops on numbers that are obviously round. When you do have to place a stop, make sure to put it below those round numbers and on short positions instead. Round numbers include 10, 20, 35, 40, 55, 60, 100, etc.
Novice forex traders should avoid jumping into a thin market. This is a market that does not hold lots of interest to the public.
If you are just starting out in forex trading, avoid overextending yourself by trading in multiple markets at once. You will likely only end up confused. Instead, pick a few major currency pairs that you feel comfortable with, and learn everything you can about their trends. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can extend your trading to other currencies.
A great forex trading tip is to use an automated system if you feel that you need it. If you’re the kind of trader that just can’t keep emotion out of it, then using an automated system is definitely for you. It will react to trades and losses accordingly, so you never make a foolish decision.
Short-term trading on the forex markets is not the best place for neophytes to start. Profit margins on the fastest trades are razor-thin. Making short-term positions pay requires lots of leverage, which in turn means lots of risk. New forex traders should stay away from the fast action that can wipe out an account in mere hours.
Abandon a Forex prediction when market movement renders it inaccurate. Predicting the way the Forex markets will move is hard work. If you put effort into making your own predictions you are likely to get attached to them. You always need to be willing to murder your darlings, though. A prediction that does not reflect movement accurately is worse than useless.
Once you’ve learned the basics of trading on the forex market, it can be a great place to invest your money. A little education can go a long way in protecting you from big losses. If you apply the lessons you’ve learned from this article, you’ll be a successful forex trader in no time.