FX Minutes

LEARNING GUIDES

Forex Trading Basics

Get familiar with the terms and mechanics behind a trade.

Understanding trade size, costs and margin helps you read a trading account. Explore buying and selling, pips, lots, spreads, leverage, charts, order types and trading hours.

10 articles

Explore the topic

  1. What Do Buy and Sell Mean in Forex?

    Learn how buying and selling in forex differ, why falling prices can also be traded, and which price movements lead toward a profit or a loss.

  2. What Is a Pip? Understanding Forex Price Movements

    Learn what pips measure, why quote displays differ between currency pairs, and why a pip movement is not the same as a cash profit.

  3. What Is a Lot? How Trade Size Relates to Profit and Loss

    Understand lots as units of forex trade size, how volume affects both gains and losses, and why lot specifications need to be checked for each product.

  4. What Is the Spread? Understanding Forex Trading Costs

    Learn what the forex spread is, how Bid and Ask prices relate, why spreads can change, and why the spread is only one part of trading costs.

  5. What Is Leverage? How Larger Exposure Affects Risk

    Understand how forex leverage allows larger trade exposure from margin, how it amplifies both gains and losses, and why maximum leverage is not a risk target.

  6. What Is Margin in Forex? Required Margin and Available Funds

    Learn what margin means in forex, how required margin differs from account balance, and how available funds and margin level relate to forced closing conditions.

  7. How to Read a Forex Chart: 3 Basics to Learn First

    Learn to read a Forex chart through time, price and price movement, and understand how timeframes and candlesticks fit together.

  8. What Is a Candlestick? Reading Bullish and Bearish Candles

    Learn candlestick basics through open, high, low and close, bullish and bearish candles, wicks and chart timeframes.

  9. Market, Limit and Stop Orders: Forex Order Types for Beginners

    Understand market, limit and stop orders, their relationship with Stop Loss, and why an execution price can differ from an order price.

  10. Forex Trading Hours: Tokyo, London and New York Sessions

    Learn when Forex is traded, how the Tokyo, London and New York sessions overlap, and why weekends, holidays and daylight saving time matter.