Understanding Forex Quotes

Reading a foreign exchange quote may seem a bit confusing at first. However, it's really quite simple if you remember two things:

1. The first currency listed first is the base currency and

2. the value of the base currency is always 1.

The US dollar is the centerpiece of the Forex market and is normally considered the 'base' currency for quotes. In the "Majors", this includes USD/JPY, USD/CHF and USD/CAD.

For these currencies and many others, quotes are expressed as a unit of $1 USD per the second currency quoted in the pair. For example, a quote of USD/JPY 110.01 means that one U.S. dollar is equal to 110.01 Japanese yen.

When the U.S. dollar is the base unit and a currency quote goes up, it means the dollar has appreciated in value and the other currency has weakened. If the USD/JPY quote we previously mentioned increases to 113.01, the dollar is stronger because it will now buy more yen than before.

The three exceptions to this rule are the British pound (GBP), the Australian dollar (AUD) and the Euro (EUR). In these cases, you might see a quote such as GBP/USD 1.7366, meaning that one British pound equals 1.7366 U.S. dollars.

In these three currency pairs, where the U.S. dollar is not the base rate, a rising quote means a weakening dollar, as it now takes more U.S. dollars to equal one pound, euro or Australian dollar. In other words, if a currency quote goes higher, that increases the value of the base currency. A lower quote means the base currency is weakening.

Currency pairs that do not involve the U.S. dollar are called cross currencies, but the premise is the same. For example, a quote of EUR/JPY 127.95 signifies that one Euro is equal to 127.95 Japanese yen. When trading forex you will often see a two-sided quote, consisting of a 'bid' and 'ask'. The 'bid' is the price at which you can sell the base currency (at the same time buying the counter currency). The 'ask' is the price at which you can buy the base currency (at the same time selling the counter currency).

Buying/Selling

First, the trader should determine whether they want to buy or sell. If they want to enter a short order - whereby they will profit if the exchange rate falls - they simply need to click on the SELL rate. The opposite holds true for traders who enter buy orders: they can simply click on the BUY rate, and thus will profit if the exchange rate goes up.

Example of How Buying/Selling Works
Just like in all markets, there are two prices for every currency pair. The difference between these two prices is the spread, or the cost of the trade. In this example, the spread is one pip. On a mini account, a pip on the EUR/USD currency pair is worth $1.

Example of How Margin Works
Since the trader opened 1 lot of the EUR/USD, his margin requirement or Used Margin is $1000. Usable Margin is the funds available to open new positions or sustain trading losses. If the equity (the value of his account) falls below his Used Margin due to trading losses, his position may be closed. As a result, the trader can never lose more than he/she deposits. Please note that, without due risk management, leverage can magnify losses as well as gains.

Rollover

For positions open at 5pm EST, there is a daily rollover interest rate that a trader either pays or earns, depending on your established margin and position in the market. If you do not want to earn or pay interest on your positions, simply make sure it is closed at 5pm EST, the established end of the market day. Since every currency trade involves borrowing one currency to buy another, interest rollover charges are an inherent part of FX trading. Interest is paid on the currency that is borrowed, and earned on the one that is purchased. If a client is buying a currency with a higher interest rate than the one he/she is borrowing, the net differential will be positive - and the client will earn funds as a result. Open a Demo Account