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Forex Information

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 The foreign exchange (currency or forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. It is by far the largest market in the world, in terms of cash value traded, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. Retail traders (small speculators) are a small part of this market.

What is the Difference between Forex and Futures?
 

Highly Trending markets

Because the foreign exchange market does not close, it isn't dramatically impacted by buying programs and cannot be easily manipulated, the Forex market offers some of the smoothest trends available in any market. No other market can come close to the amount of monetary volume and participation as the Forex market making it a haven for traders not having to deal with gaps and price movements, erratic spikes and other choppy market conditions more commonly experienced in the futures markets.

No Commissions or Hidden Fees

Though some speculators are unaware, ALL financial markets have a spread (the difference between the bid and ask price). In the futures market you are not only paying the spread, but you are also paying commission charges, clearing and exchange fees on top of the spread. Ticker prices in the Futures market typically signify the last traded price, not the price at which you will be filled. Global Forex Trading offers you commission free trading on tradable prices. In a sense, what you see is what you get, allowing you to make quick decisions on your trades without having to account for fees that may affect your profit/loss or slippage between the price that you have just seen on the ticker and the price in which the order will be filled.

Better Leverage

Trading in the spot currency markets provides advantages over trading currency futures contracts. One of the main advantages for traders trading spot currencies is the margin rate or leverage that clients are given. In spot currency trading customers receive one low margin rate for trades done 24 hours a day. In currency futures trading the client has one margin rate for "day" trades and one margin rate for "overnight" positions. This can become a hassle for traders and decreases the overall tradability of the currency futures markets. Margin rates in spot currency trading vary from around 1% to 5% depending on the size of transactions a particular trader initiates. GFT's spot currency trading gives the customer one rate all the time, no hassles, and no margin calls. One rate so that the trader can manage their own risk efficiently and simply.

24-hour Trading

Since the Forex market, in a sense, "follows the sun" around the globe the market rarely experiences periods of illiquidity. What this means is that any trader in any time zone can trade Forex at any time during the day or night! You no longer have to wait for the market to open when news has already hit the streets or have to stop trading because the CME, CBOT or other American futures pits have closed for the day. This gives the Forex trader added flexibility and continuous market opportunities that just aren't available in futures.

To explain the global effect on the Forex market, there are three main economic zones that are linked throughout the world. For instance, when the Pacific Rim markets such as Japan and Singapore begin to slow, the European markets of England, Switzerland and Germany begin, followed by the North American markets of the United States, Canada and Mexico. As the North American markets begin to slow down for the evening, the Pacific Rim starts their trading day. This example shows that you are no longer limited to trading the comparatively short trading day offered by US markets alone.
In contrast, currency futures are a small part of a much larger market; one that has undergone historical changes over the last decade.

• Currency futures contracts (called IMM contracts or international monetary market futures) were created at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1972.
  These contracts were created for the market professionals, who at that time, accounted for 99% of the volume generated in the currency markets.
  While some intrepid individuals did speculate in currency futures, highly trained specialists dominated the pits.
  Rather than becoming a hub for global currency transactions, currency futures became more of a sideshow (relative to the cash markets) for hedgers and arbitragers on the prowl for small, momentary anomalies between cash and futures currency prices.
  In what appears to be a permanent rather than cyclical change, fewer and fewer of these arbitrage windows are opening these days. And, when they do, they are immediately slammed shut by a swarm of professional dealers.