Trading Tools

Record of all transactions.

Amount of money in an account.

A currency is said to appreciate when price rises in response to market demand; an increase in the value of an asset.

Taking advantage of countervailing prices in different markets by the purchase or sale of an instrument and simultaneous taking of an equal and opposite position in a related market to profit from small price differentials.

The price, or rate, that a willing seller is prepared to sell at.

The Australian Dollar

The departments and processes related to the settlement of financial transactions (i.e. written confirmation and settlement of trades, record keeping).

A record of a nation’s claims of transactions with the rest of the world over a particular time period. These include merchandise, services and capital flows.

The value of a country's exports minus its imports.

A type of chart which consists of four significant points: the high and the low prices, which form the vertical bar, the opening price, which is marked with a little horizontal line to the left of the bar, and the closing price, which is marked with a little horizontal line of the right of the bar.

Start Forex gives its clients the option to fund their account instantly using a credit card, in addition to other funding methods. Using a credit card with Start Forex is safe, fast and easy. With the help of the most advanced technology in the market to protect the client.

This allows the trader to fund his position at any point of time, 24 hours a day easily and promptly.

One hundredth of a percent.

An investor who believes that prices/the market will decline.

A market distinguished by a prolonged period of declining prices accompanied with widespread pessimism.

The price that a buyer is prepared to purchase at; the price offered for a currency.

Dealer phrase referring to the first few digits of an exchange rate. These digits rarely change in normal market fluctuations, and therefore are omitted in dealer quotes, especially in times of high market activity. For example, a USD/Yen rate might be 107.30/107.35, but would be quoted verbally without the first three digits i.e. "30/35".

Bonds are tradable instruments (debt securities) which are issued by a borrower to raise capital. They pay either fixed or floating interest, known as the coupon. As interest rates fall, bond prices rise and vice versa.

An agreement that established fixed foreign exchange rates for major currencies, provided for central bank intervention in the currency markets, and pegged the price of gold at US $35 per ounce. The agreement lasted until 1971, when President Nixon overturned the Bretton Woods agreement and established a floating exchange rate for the major currencies.

An individual, or firm, that acts as an intermediary, putting together buyers and sellers usually for a fee or commission. In contrast, a `dealer` commits capital and takes one side of a position, hoping to earn a spread (profit) by closing out the position in a subsequent trade with another party.

Bundesbank, Central Bank of Germany

An investor who believes that prices/the market will rise.

A market distinguished by a prolonged period of rising prices. (Opposite of bear market)

Trader jargon for the British Pound Sterling referring to the Sterling/US Dollar exchange rate. Term began due to the fact that the rate was originally transmitted via a transatlantic cable starting in the mid 1800`s.

A chart that indicates the trading range for the day as well as the opening and closing price. If the open price is higher than the close price, the rectangle between the open and close price is shaded. If the close price is higher than the open price, that area of the chart is not shaded.

Markets for medium to long term investment (usually over 1 year). These tradable instruments are more international than the ‘money market’ (i.e. Government Bonds and Eurobonds).

A government or quasi-governmental organization that manages a country`s monetary policy a prints a nation’s currency. For example, the US central bank is the Federal Reserve, others include the ECB, BOE, BOJ.

An individual who uses charts and graphs and interprets historical data to find trends and predict future movements. Also referred to as Technical Trader.

The process of settling a trade.

Exposures in Foreign Currencies that no longer exist. The process to close a position is to sell or buy a certain amount of currency to offset an equal amount of the open position. This will 'square' the position.

A transaction fee charged by a broker.

A document exchanged by counterparts to a transaction that confirms the terms of said transaction.

The standard unit of trading.

The participant, either a bank or customer, with whom the financial transaction is made.

An exchange rate between two currencies. The cross rate is said to be non-standard in the country where the currency pair is quoted. For example, in the US, a GBP/CHF quote would be considered a cross rate, whereas in the UK or Switzerland it would be one of the primary currency pairs traded.

Any form of money issued by a government or central bank and used as legal tender and a basis for trade.

The two currencies that make up a foreign exchange rate. For Example, EUR/USD

The risk of incurring losses resulting from an adverse change in exchange rates.

Opening and closing the same position or positions within the same trading session.

An individual or firm that acts as a principal or counterpart to a transaction. Principals take one side of a position, hoping to earn a spread (profit) by closing out the position in a subsequent trade with another party. In contrast, a broker is an individual or firm that acts as an intermediary, putting together buyers and sellers for a fee or commission.

A negative balance of trade or payments.

An actual delivery where both sides transfer possession of the currencies traded.

The borrowing and lending of cash. The rate that money is borrowed/lent at is known as the deposit rate (or depo rate). Certificates of Deposit (CD`S) are also tradable instruments.

A decline in the value of a currency due to market forces.

A contract that changes in value in relation to the price movements of a related or underlying security, future or other physical instrument. An Option is the most common derivative instrument.

The deliberate downward adjustment of a currency's price, normally by official announcement.

The Central Bank for the European Monetary Union.

A statistic that indicates current economic growth and stability issued by the government or a non-government institution (i.e. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Employment Rates, Trade Deficits, Industrial Production, and Business Inventories).

The principal goal of the EMU is to establish a single European currency called the Euro, which will officially replace the national currencies of the member EU countries in 2002. On Janaury1, 1999 the transitional phase to introduce the Euro began. The Euro now exists as a banking currency and paper financial transactions and foreign exchange are made in Euros. This transition period will last for three years, at which time Euro notes an coins will enter circulation. On July 1,2002, only Euros will be legal tender for EMU participants, the national currencies of the member countries will cease to exist. The current members of the EMU are Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Traders account for their positions in two ways: accrual or mark-to-market. An accrual system accounts only for cash flows when they occur, hence, it only shows a profit or loss when realized. The mark-to-market method values the trader`s book at the end of each working day using the closing market rates or revaluation rates. Any profit or loss is booked and the trader will start the next day with a net position.

The currency of the European Monetary Union (EMU) which replaced the European Currency Unit (ECU).

The date on which a trade occurs.

The Central Bank for the United States.

An official exchange rate set by monetary authorities for one or more currencies. In practice, even fixed exchange rates fluctuate between definite upper and lower bands, leading to intervention.

To be neither long nor short is the same as to be flat or square. One would have a flat book if he has no positions or if all the positions cancel each other out.

The Federal Reserve monetary committee.

The simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another in an over-the-counter market. Most major FX is quoted against the US Dollar.

The pre-specified exchange rate for a foreign exchange contract settling at some agreed future date, based upon the interest rate differential between the two currencies involved.

The pips added to or subtracted from the current exchange rate to calculate a forward price.