Basics
The Basics
The Basics covers everything a complete newcomer needs to actually understand the foreign exchange market: what it is and isn't, how currencies are quoted and traded, the units (pips and lots) money is measured in, how to read a price chart, the costs that sit between you and every trade, the order types you'll use, and the forces that move exchange rates. Read in sequence, the articles in this section build into a complete mental model of how the market works mechanically. Most people end up trading on far less foundation than this. The goal here is to make sure that's a deliberate choice and not a default.
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What Is the Forex Market?
A plain-English introduction to the foreign exchange market: what it is, who trades it, when it is open, and why prices move.
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How Currency Pairs Work
Currencies are always traded in pairs. Here is how to read a quote: base and quote currency, bid, ask, the spread, and what going long or short really means.
Read the explainer →What Are Pips and Lots?
A pip is how a price moves; a lot is how much you trade. Together they decide how much money is on the line. Here is how both work, with examples.
Read the explainer →How to Read a Forex Chart
Line charts, candlestick charts, the anatomy of a single candle, and timeframes: how to actually read what a price chart is telling you, and what it can't.
Read the explainer →What Moves Exchange Rates?
Interest rates, inflation, economic data, and risk sentiment: the real forces behind currency moves, and why markets react to expectations rather than facts.
Read the explainer →Trading Costs Explained
Spreads, swaps, commissions, slippage, and last-look execution: the costs that sit between you and your trade, with worked examples and the math of what they add up to.
Read the explainer →Forex Order Types Explained
Market, limit, stop, stop-loss, take-profit, trailing, OCO: what each order type does, what it guarantees, and the things stops can quietly fail to protect against.
Read the explainer →What Are Forex Signals (and Why This Site Doesn't Sell Them)
What forex signals actually are, how the signal-seller business model really works, the regulator-disclosed loss-rate data, and why a high win rate can lose money. The honest take.
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