What is forex trading?

Forex trading is the buying and selling of global currencies. It’s how individuals, businesses, central banks and governments pay for goods and services in other economies. Whenever you buy a product in another currency, or exchange cash to go on holiday, you’re trading forex.

What makes the forex market unique?

The forex market is unique for several reasons, the main one being its size. Trading volume is generally very large. As an example, trading in foreign exchange markets averaged $6.6 trillion per day in 2019, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). This exceeds global equities (stocks) trading volumes by roughly 25 times.

What is a foreign exchange (FX) market?

The foreign exchange (forex or FX) market is a global marketplace for exchanging national currencies. Because of the worldwide reach of trade, commerce, and finance, forex markets tend to be the world's largest and most liquid asset markets. Currencies trade against each other as exchange rate pairs.

How are forex prices determined?

Instead of trading via a central exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange or London Stock Exchange, forex prices are determined by interbank trading – the buying and selling of currencies between banks constantly, all over the world. The currency market is open 24 hours a day during market hours.