Currency Pairs in Forex

It may come as a surprise to the investing novice, but the currency market is the largest financial market in the world. forex is the shortened version for foreign exchange, and often you see this market referred to as FX. The Currency exchange is a 24 hour market. This means a forex trader can always find good trading opportunities at almost any hour during the business week. Currencies are traded in pairs which may sound complicated, but actually its the currency pairs that make the trading of forex easier. In the USD/GBP (U.S. Dollar and British Pound Pair) your basically purchasing the USD and simultaneously selling the GBP. If you were to go short on this pair you’d be betting the dollar is going to decrease in value while the pound is going to rise in value. It can get confusing, but thankfully the forex broker will provide you with much of the information you need to place your first trade.