Online forex trading has become very popular in the past decade because it offers traders several advantages:
FOREX NEVER SLEEPS
Trading goes on all around the world during different countries' business hours. You can, therefore, trade major currencies at any time, 24 hours per day, 5 days per week. Since there are no set exchange hours, it means that there is also something happening at almost any time of the day or night.1
GO LONG OR SHORT
Unlike many other financial markets, where it can be difficult to sell short, there are no limitations on shorting currencies. If you think a currency will go up, buy it. If you think it will fall, sell it. This means there is no such thing as a "bear market" in forex - you can make (or lose) money any time.
LOW TRADING COSTS
Most forex accounts are made up of low, competitive commissions and super-tight spreads. You trade the direct quotes from our liquidity providers with no hidden markups.2
UNMATCHED LIQUIDITY
Because forex is a $5.3 trillion-a-day market, with most trading concentrated in only a few currencies, there are always a lot of people trading. This makes it typically very easy to get into and out of trades at any time, even in large sizes.
AVAILABLE LEVERAGE
Because of the deep liquidity available in the forex market, you can trade forex with considerable leverage (up to 50:1). This can allow you to take advantage of even the smallest moves in the market. Leverage is a double-edged sword, of course, as it can significantly increase your losses as well as your gains.
INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE
As the world becomes more and more global, investors hunt for opportunities anywhere they can. If you want to take a broad opinion and invest in another country (or sell it short!), forex is an easy way to gain exposure while avoiding vagaries such as foreign securities laws and financial statements in other languages.
