Forex Investment and Currency Trading

What Does It Cost to Trade Currencies?
An online currency trading account (a “micro-account”) may be opened for as little as $100. Mini-accounts start at $300. Do not laugh—micro- and mini-accounts are a good way to get your feet wet without taking a bath. Unlike futures, where the size of a contract is set by the exchanges, in FOREX you select how much of any particular currency you wish to buy or sell. Thus, a $3,000,000 grubstake is not unreasonable as long as the trader engages in appropriately sized trades. FOREX mini-accounts also do not suffer the illiquidity of many futures [...]

[Read more →]

The USD is a little weaker today, after oil prices reversed course and climbed higher on the back of yesterday’s EIA inventory reports. Crude oil closed at $126.77, which was more than $4 higher than the prior day’s close, and was its highest close in more than a week. Yesterday the Fed announced that it would be extending the TSLF and PDCF until (at least) January 30, that it was increasing the term to maturity in its TAF, and that it was increasing its swap line with the ECB. Clearly the Fed believes that liquidity is still a major issue [...]

[Read more →]

 The dollar traded lower overnight despite expectations for solid 2.3% GDP gain in today’s Q2 advance report as month/end flows weighed on the USD.  After yesterday’s test near 1.5525 support, a 5 week low, Euro/dollar gained toward 1.5700 this morning after GDP was disappointing and unemployment claims even more so, initial claims +44k and continuing claims +185k to highest level since late 2003.  Note the newly enacted Emergency Unemployment Compensation program has been expected to increase continuing claims and the market expects higher than expected levels for several weeks.  The projection for tomorrow’s non-farm payroll report is a 60K drop in [...]

[Read more →]

Present price action is similar to that seen during the November 2007-February 2008 consolidation before EURUSD headed higher again (rallied from 1.44 to 1.59 over a period of 5 weeks- The prior rally off the support line was from just above 1.33 to above 1.49 in the 3 months into November 2007.)
Interesting note- The time gap from the trend line support on 16 August 2007 to the trend line support on 07 Feb 2008 (the 2 prior points of major rallies) was 175 days. The timeframe from 07 Feb to today got within 11 pips of this trend line was [...]

[Read more →]