Methods of Foreign Exchange Trading For Starters

If you want to get around some real foreign exchange trading for starters, knowing the trade methods themselves is your best bet. Foreign currency trading is not just a mere gesture of giving out currencies as the other party needs it. Methods are necessary to control the success of the business flow. There are different types of transaction processes which you can use according to your level of comfort.


1. Spot Currency Trading - This accounts for most of the exchanges happening in the foreign currency trading business. Spot currency trading usually involves two currency traders. What happens here is that the buyer ends up calling the seller. But at the beginning of the transaction, the buyer will not yet reveal his intention to purchase any currencies offered by the seller. The seller will proceed to entertain the inquiries of the buyer and in the process informs the currency rates. Should the buyer feel comfortable with the said rates, both parties may reach a decision to transact business with each other.


2. Forward Trading - This method involves a more long term investment. The essence of forward trading is that the agreement to make the trade is finalized days or even years before the actual day of exchange. So in here, both parties (the buyer and the seller) would agree to exchange their currencies for a specified date in the future regardless of the rates that their currencies may have by then. This type of trading is often done between big companies. It also has two different types:

* Swap - This is the most common type of forward trading. In here, both the buyer and the seller agree to make currency exchanges for a specified period of time. Then their roles will eventually swap after the said period of initial exchange.
* Future - This is the forward trading used by most big companies. In future trading, a contract is drafted for the exchange with emphasis on the maturity rates.


3. Option Trading - This type of method is perhaps a flexible tool considered in our foreign exchange trading for starters. This is because option trading is the extended version of forward trading. Forward trading sort of binds involved parties to make the specified transaction. But with option trading, the involved parties only obtain the rights to buy the currency at the agreed upon date or during the duration that lapses. In here, the strike price is what's crucial as this is the rate agreed upon in terms of buying and selling.


Although these methods of foreign exchange trading for starters may be promising, it is still important to note that all of them come with their own particular risks. After all, foreign currency trading is a volatile and dynamic type of business. These methods come with their own brand of advantages and disadvantages so it is imperative that when you use them, you fully understand their capacity first. Currency trading is a very fluid business and these methods may also provide different risks for different transactions.