04/02/2022
Investors can trade almost any currency in the world through foreign exchange (forex). In order to make money in forex, you should be aware that you are taking on a speculative risk. In essence, you are betting that the value of one currency will increase relative to another. The expected return of currency trading is similar to the money market and lower than stocks or bonds. However, it is possible to increase both returns and risk by using leverage. Currency trading is generally more profitable for active traders than passive investors.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
It is possible to make money trading money when the prices of foreign currencies rise and fall.
Currencies are traded in pairs.
Buying and selling currency can be very profitable for active traders because of low trading costs, diverse markets, and the availability of high leverage.
Exchanging currency is not a good way for passive investors to make money.
It is easy to get started trading money at many large brokerages and specialized forex brokers.
Buying and Selling Currency Explained
It is important to note that currencies are traded and priced in pairs. For example, you may have seen a currency quote for a EUR/USD pair of 1.1256. In this example, the base currency is the euro. The U.S. dollar is the quote currency.
In all currency quote cases, the base currency is worth one unit. The quoted currency is the amount of currency that one unit of the base currency can buy. Based on our previous example, all that means is that one euro can buy 1.1256 U.S. dollars. An investor can make money in forex by appreciation in the value of the quoted currency or by a decrease in value of the base currency.