►Forex

General Information

The following Forex FAQ section contains general information about foreign exchange markets.

1.1. What is Foreign Exchange?

Foreign exchange is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. The world's currencies are on a floating exchange rate and are always traded in pairs, for example Euro / Dollar or Dollar / Yen. With a daily average turnover of approximately $1.4 trillion, the foreign exchange market, also known as the "Forex" or "FX" market, is the largest financial market in the world.

1.2. Where is the central location of the forex market?

Unlike the stock and futures markets, forex trading is not centralized on an exchange. Due to the fact that transactions are conducted between two counterparts over the telephone or via an electronic network, the forex market is considered an "Over the Counter" (OTC) or "Interbank" market.

1.3. Who are the participants in the forex market?

The reason that the forex market is referred to as an interbank market is due to the fact that historically it has been dominated by banks, including central banks, commercial banks, and investment banks. However, the percentage of other market participants is rapidly growing, and now includes large multinational corporations, global money managers, registered dealers, international money brokers, futures and options traders, and private speculators.

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