But how does online currency trading work? And what should you look for when you compare online forex trading accounts?

How do you trade forex online?

Online currency trading involves you using your internet based forex account to predict whether a value of a currency will strengthen or weaken in relation to another currency. If you predict correctly then you'll profit, get it wrong and you'll incur a loss.
When you trade forex online you effectively buy one currency and sell another so, when trading currency online UK traders have to select a 'currency pair'.
For example, you might buy the US dollar against the Japanese yen anticipating that the dollar will increase in value relative to the yen. If the dollar does rise relative to the yen during the period of your trade, you will make a profit. If it falls in value relative to the yen you'll incur a loss.
The most commonly traded currencies in the world are the euro (EUR), British pound (GBP), US dollar (USD) and Japanese yen (YEN).
One of the main advantages of online forex trading UK investors benefit from is that you can trade 'on margin'. This means that you can open a position far in excess of the capital in your forex account.
For example, if you wanted to trade £50,000 on the GBP/USD currency pair you would be required to have just £1,000 of capital at 2% margin.
However, if the forex market moved against you would need to have the full amount, plus any additional losses, available to settle your trade. This is why it's important you don't trade without having sufficient funds to leave you with the money to repay what you may owe.
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