A
Aggregate Risk
When a bank or financial body is exposed to forex contracts from a
single customer.
Ask
The price at which a trader accepts to buy a security.
Asset
An item/resource of value.
B
Bank Rate
The rate at which a country's central bank lends money to its domestic
banks.
Base Currency
In a currency pair, the first currency in the pair is called the base
currency. For example, in the USD/JPY pair, USD is the base currency.
Bear Market
When the prices of certain securities, assets, or markets are in
decline.
Bid
The price at which a trader is prepared to sell a security.
Bull Market
When the prices of certain securities, assets, or markets are rising.
Buy Limit Order
An order to carry out a transaction at, or lower than, a specified
price, the word 'limit' referring to the specified price.
C
Carry Trade
When an investor borrows at low interest rates so they can buy assets
that are likely to produce higher interest rates.
Closed Position
When a position is closed, the transaction has been completed – whether
the position was long or short or whether it was profitable or incurred losses.
Closing Market Rate
Otherwise known as closing price, this is the final rate that a security
is traded at on a specific day, candle or timeframe.
Currency Appreciation
When a currency increases in value against another.
Currency Futures
A contract that specifies the price that a currency can be bought or
sold at on a set future date. Future contracts are often used by investors to
hedge against risk.
Currency Pair
The pair formed by two different currencies which are traded in a forex
transaction. For example: EUR/USD.
D
Daily Chart
A graph that illustrates the intraday movements of a security.
Day Trade
A trade opened and closed within one day.
Demo Account
A trading account which is funded with virtual money, giving the trader
a chance to explore the markets and test the trading platform they're using
before investing real money in a live trading account.
Depth of Market
The number of open buy and sell orders placed for a security at varying
prices.
Drawdown
When the value of an investment drops, the length between its peak and
its low is called the drawdown.
E
ECN Broker
A broker which uses Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs) to provide
its clients with direct access to liquidity providers.
Exchange Rate
The rate at which one currency can be exchanged for another.
Execution
When a trade is carried out and completed.
Exposure
This refers to the amount invested in a security and exposed to market
risk.
F
Fill
The completion of an order.
Fill or Kill
When an investor has a very specific price they want to carry out a
transaction at, they place a Fill or Kill order – this means that if the order
is not filled at the desired price, it is terminated, or killed.
Fill Price
The price at which an order has been completed.
Floating Exchange Rate
When an exchange rate is not fixed, but adjusts depending on the supply
and demand for a particular currency relative to other currencies.
Forex Chart
A digital chart that plots the price movements of currency pairs to help
investors make informed trading decisions.
Forex Scalping
A trading strategy based on the notion that if you buy and sell (or sell
and buy) a currency within a very short time frame, you are more likely to make
a profit than you would with large price movements.
Forex Signal System
A system which gives out signals to traders to help them decide whether
a specific time is suitable to buy or sell a currency pair.
Forex Signal System - Currency Basket
A specific group of currencies which form a weighted average that can
act as a measure to value an obligation.
Forex Spot Rate
The current exchange rate that a currency pair can be bought or sold at.
Forex Trading Robot
This refers to automated trading software which is designed to help
determine whether to buy or sell a currency pair at a given time.
Fundamental Analysis
The impact economic and political events have on prices in financial
markets (interest rate announcements, unemployment rate, etc.)
H
Hedge
Investors use hedging to protect themselves by reducing the risk that
may be caused by adverse market movements. Hedging means making two
counterbalancing investments, in this way minimizing the losses which could be
incurred by price fluctuations.
I
Interbank Rate
The interest rate charged on short-term loans between banks.
L
Leverage
Leverage is offered by brokers to maximize traders' buying power by
giving them the ability to deposit a small amount of funds and trade larger
volumes. Leverage is expressed in ratio form, so if it is 1:100 for example, a
trader's buying power is magnified 100 times.
Limit Order
An order to execute a trade at a specific price or a better one.
Limit Price
The specific price referred to in limit order.
Liquidity
The volume available in the market for a specific currency pair.
Long Position
Taking a long position on a currency means that you buy it. In a
currency pair, you buy the first of the two currencies – the base currency.
Lots
A lot is a standardized quantity of the instrument you are trading. In
forex, one lot is 100,000 units of a particular currency.
M
Margin
This refers to the amount of money needed in your account to maintain an
open position.
Margin Call
This is a notification which alerts you that you need to deposit more
money in your trading account so there can be sufficient margin to keep
existing positions open.
Mark-to-Market
The value an open position would be if it were closed at the current
market rate.
Market Order
An order for a trade to be executed instantly at the best available
price.
Market Rate
The current quote for a currency pair.
Micro Lot
A micro lot is equal to 1,000 units of the base currency in a currency
pair.
Middle Rate
The price exactly in-between the bid and ask prices.
N
No Dealing Desk
When traders have direct access to the interbank market and there is no
dealing desk involved in their transactions.
O
Open Position
A position taken on a currency pair/security that is subject to profits
or losses.
Over the Counter
The traditional way of trading forex was ‘over the counter’, meaning
traders made forex transactions over the telephone or on electronic devices.
Overnight Position
When a trader’s position is kept open and carried over to the next
trading day.
P
Pip
Pip stands for Percentage in Point and it is the smallest price change
that can be seen in an exchange rate. In most cases currency pairs are priced
to four decimal points and the smallest change can be seen in the last decimal.
Profit Taking
Closing a position to make a profit.
Q
Quote Currency
The second currency of a currency pair is called the Quote currency. In
EUR/USD for example, USD is the quote currency.
R
Regulated Market
A market governed by legislative rules and regulations which are in
place to protect investors.
Resistance
The price level which a stock or currency finds difficult to break above
and as a result may begin declining instead.
Risk Management
Tools and strategies traders use to limit financial risk as much as
possible.
Rollover Rate
In forex, the rollover rate is the interest rate that traders pay or
earn when they hold (rollover) a position open overnight.
Round Trip
Refers to the total amount of funds involved in opening and closing a
position.
S
Slippage
This is when a trader executes an order at a price which is very
different to the price they expected the trade to be executed at. This usually
happens during periods of high volatility, when traders use market orders and
stop loss orders.
Soft Currency
A currency that is sensitive to political and economic events and thus
fluctuates greatly and is generally unstable.
Speculator
A trader who takes big risks when trading, choosing to trade instruments
with a higher risk in the hope that they will return higher profits.
Spike
A sudden upward or downward movement in price that happens in a short
time period.
Spread
The difference between the Ask and Bid price of a currency pair.
Stop Loss Order
An order placed to buy or sell a security/currency when a certain price
is reached. These orders are placed to limit loss on a position.
T
Take Profit Order (T/P)
An order placed to close a position once it hits a specific price.
Technical Analysis
Traders use technical analysis to forecast prices by examining
market/historical data through the use of charts and trading indicators.
V
Volatility
This refers to the level of uncertainty surrounding the price
fluctuations of a certain security/currency pair.
Y
Yield
Yield is the return on an investment and is usually expressed as a percentage.
