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What is Forex?

Forex (stands for Foreign exchange market) - is the international market for sale of national currencies. In its current form Forex was formed in the 1970s, when major countries adopted floating currency rates instead of fixed ones.
In the course of currencies interchange daily sales volume on Forex reaches trillions of dollars, and the scope of funds involved in conversion operations on Forex are constantly rising.

US dollar (USD) is the main currency of Forex.

Market participants:

• entral banks;
• commercial banks;
• investment banks;
• brokers and dealers;
• pension funds;
• insurance companies;
• transnational corporations;
• private investors.

Forex is not an exchange, it doesn't have opening and closing hours. It operates 24 hours a day, 5 days a week because sales operations between banks of different countries are being carried out at any times (some banks even operate on weekends). All trading on Forex is exercised just like on any exchange, based upon demand and supply for a specific instrument, e.g. there are buyers "Euro vs. Dollar" and there are respective sellers.
Currency rates on Forex are rapidly changing, fluctuations may occur several times per second, the market is highly liquid.

Rates may be influenced by:

• economic factors (current economic indexes of different countries, Central banks' policies, changing rates, export/import operations, adjacent markets, etc.);
• political factors (political statements, presidential elections);
• attitude of market participants, their expectations, rumors;
• Acts of God (terrorist acts, emergency situations, natural convulsions).

Despite all these international foreign exchange market Forex is highly stable in comparison with exchanges and share markets. It is not prone to abrupt destructive meltdowns because if one currency is falling then the other one is definitely rising.
This market's main advantage is its strong interrelation with informational technologies. Clients from opposite hemispheres can trade via the Internet, that is why Forex has become even more available for general public. Electronic commerse is used even by major banks, being one of the most popular means of trading operations.

In its current point of history Forex is headed upward and in the process of further social and technological development will continue to grow and expand.