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A Beginner's Introduction To The Currency Markets - 1
By Christopher Temple
The Forex market is used to trade one against another. The professionals refer to this as foreign exchange, more commonly referred to as Forex or FX trading. This is an international market covering the entire planet, and has no specific central exchange, unlike all the other financial market you can think of. It is also the biggest markets you can imagine, with almost 2 trillion dollars changing hands daily (that's an awful lot of zeros))
Why do we need a Exchange? Well, An international exchange is necessary in many situations:-
Consumers will come into contact with a exchange whenever they travel abroad. They go to their bank or a local exchange bureau to convert one (usually their home currency) into another (the of the country they intend to visit) so that they can buy goods or services in that country. Consumers often purchase goods in a foreign country using their credit cards. They will find that their credit card company will convert the amount they paid in the foreign to their local currency, and will appear on their credit card statement at the converted rate. Although each such exchange is tiny, the sum total of all the millions of such transactions every day is very significant.
Businesses must convert currencies when they conduct business outside their own country. For example, if they export goods to another country and receive payment in that country's currency, the payment must be converted back to their own home currency. If they import goods or services, then businesses will often have to pay in a foreign currency, which requires them to first convert their local into a foreign currency. Big companies convert huge amounts of every year, often tens of billions of dollars. The timing of these transactions can have a huge effect on their balance sheet and overall profits.
Commercial and Investment Banks trade currencies to support their banking. These same institutions also participate in the market for hedging and trading purposes.
Governments and central banks trade currencies in attempts to improve national trading conditions or in attempts to manipulate or adjust economic or financial imbalances. Although they do not trade for speculative reasons they are often very profitable, since they generally trade on a medium to long-term basis.
Investors and/or speculators (traders) require exchange whenever they trade a foreign investment, whether it is in equities, bonds, bank deposits, or real estate. If a Swiss investor buys shares in an American company on the NASDAQ exchange, he must pay for the shares in U.S. Dollars. He'll probably have to convert Swiss francs to U.S. Dollars to complete the deal. Similarly, an English real estate investor selling a New York property will need to convert the proceeds of the sale from U.S. Dollars to British Pounds.
Because the value of one continuously varies against the other currencies, investors and speculators can directly trade these currencies in order to profit from their movements. For example, if an English investor forms the opinion that the Japanese economy is strengthening and expects the Yen to appreciate in value (i.e., go up relative to other currencies including the pound), then he may want to buy Japanese Yen, taking what is referred to as a long position (expecting a rise). Similarly, if an American investor believes that the Euro is about to go down, he may sell the Euro to take a short position (expecting a decrease in value). Importantly, investors and speculators can profit whether currencies becoming stronger (by taking a long position) or become weaker (by taking a short position).
Many speculators are day traders, meaning that they set out to take advantage of regular market movements over very short time periods, often buying a and then selling it again very soon afterwards (sometimes in just a few seconds).
Until a few years ago this market was very difficult if not impossible to enter for the individual, because of the huge investment
Gold Prices Dropped while Silver was Unchanged ? USD Up vs JPY but Down vs EUR <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=20120206_futures_forex_signals_gold_euro_dollar_yen.htm" style="font-size:1.2em">Gold Prices Dropped while Silver was Unchanged ? USD Up vs JPY but Down vs EUR <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Best Syndication</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">1 hour ago </span>
<div style="width:80%;">(Best Syndication News) Brent crude oil advanced today as tensions between Iran and the United States continued to fester (see forex and commodities charts below).</div>
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British Pound Sterling: Currency continues advance against EUR, safe haven <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.euro-exchangerate.com/british-pound-eur-safe-haven-06021355.html" style="font-size:1.2em">British Pound Sterling: Currency continues advance against EUR, safe haven <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Euro Exchange Rate News</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">21 hours ago </span>
<div style="width:80%;">The Pound continued its advance against the Euro this morning, but the UK currency declined for a second day versus the US Dollar, as market speculation escalates over the prospect of further quantitative easing from the Bank of England this week.</div>
<a href="http://www.economy-news.co.uk/british-pound-sterling/1097-british-pound-up-as-eco-data-provides-a-boost-43534543">British Pound Sterling | Currency News Views and Outlook</a> - <span style="color:#888888">Economy News</span><br>
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Forex Trading and Currency Exchange Rates ? USD/JPY rises as EUR/USD drops
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<a href="http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=20120205_forex_signals_usd_jpy_eur.htm" style="font-size:1.2em">Forex Trading and Currency Exchange Rates ? USD/JPY rises as EUR/USD drops</a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Best Syndication</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Feb 6, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">(Best Syndication News) The dollar is trending higher early Monday as stock markets in Europe open lower (see forex tables below).</div>
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Currency Futures: Forex Speculators cut US Dollar bets. Aussie, Kiwi & Peso <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://countingpips.com/fx/2012/02/05/currency-futures-forex-speculators-cut-us-dollar-bets-aussie-kiwi-peso-positions-continue-rise/" style="font-size:1.2em">Currency Futures: Forex Speculators cut US Dollar bets. Aussie, Kiwi & Peso <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">CountingPips (blog)</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Feb 5, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">By CountingPips.com The latest Commitments of Traders (COT) report, released on Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), showed that large futures speculators cut back on their US dollar long positions last week and Euro short ...</div>
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Forex Trading and Commodities ? Gold and Silver Prices Advance while USD was <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=20120202_forex_signals_futures_gold_silver.htm" style="font-size:1.2em">Forex Trading and Commodities ? Gold and Silver Prices Advance while USD was <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Best Syndication</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Feb 3, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">(Best Syndication News) Gold prices jumped again today as traders took advantage of the long-term policy signals from the Federal Reserve (see forex and futures charts below).</div>
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British Pound Sterling: Currency in 10-week high vs USD while falls vs EUR <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.euro-exchangerate.com/british-pound-high-vs-us-dollar-01021330.html" style="font-size:1.2em">British Pound Sterling: Currency in 10-week high vs USD while falls vs EUR <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Euro Exchange Rate News</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Feb 1, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">Also boosting the pound sterling is news that UK manufacturing kicked back into life in January. British Pound Sterling (GBP) in US Dollar (USD): GBPUSD is unchanged at 1.5757.</div>
<a href="http://www.economy-news.co.uk/british-pound-sterling/1093-british-pound-gbp-up-against-us-dollar-usd-456456456">British Pound Sterling: Currency faces 'another slug of QE' of 75bn GBP should <b>...</b></a> - <span style="color:#888888">Economy News</span><br>
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Gold Prices Climb as Silver Slips? USD Higher vs EUR but Lower vs JPY ? Brent <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=20120131_forex_trading_usd_eur_jpy_gold_silver_prices.htm" style="font-size:1.2em">Gold Prices Climb as Silver Slips? USD Higher vs EUR but Lower vs JPY ? Brent <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Best Syndication</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Feb 1, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">(Best Syndication News) Gold and silver prices moved in opposite directions Tuesday as traders looked for safe-havens (see forex and futures charts below).</div>
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British Pound Sterling: Currency finds GfK consumer confidence data of no use <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.euro-exchangerate.com/british-pound-to-euro-31011325.html" style="font-size:1.2em">British Pound Sterling: Currency finds GfK consumer confidence data of no use <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Euro Exchange Rate News</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Jan 31, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">This morning the pound euro pair continues to be driven by events in the eurozone as domestic UK data fails to make an impact. British Pound Sterling (GBP) in US Dollar (USD): GBPUSD is 0.37% higher at 1.5770.</div>
<a href="http://www.economy-news.co.uk/british-pound-sterling/1078-quantitative-easing-in-february-3444354334-and-the-pound">British Pound Sterling: Currency fins support vs EUR and USD as Miles says QE <b>...</b></a> - <span style="color:#888888">Economy News</span><br>
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British Pound Sterling: Currency to fall further against US Dollar says <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.euro-exchangerate.com/pound-dollar-exchange-rate-forecast-27011314.html" style="font-size:1.2em">British Pound Sterling: Currency to fall further against US Dollar says <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Euro Exchange Rate News</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Jan 27, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">Once the euphoria is over we should also see the euro dollar exchange rate retreating once more. British Pound Sterling (GBP) in Euro (EUR): GBPEUR is 0.13% lower at 1.1958.</div>
<a href="http://www.economy-news.co.uk/british-pound-sterling/1072-british-pound-and-quantitative-easing-forecasts-3435435435">British Pound Sterling: Analysts speculate on Quantitative Easing - 25bn, 50bn <b>...</b></a> - <span style="color:#888888">Economy News</span><br>
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DFC Global Corp. Announces Record Fiscal Second Quarter Results
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<a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dfc-global-corp-announces-record-fiscal-second-quarter-results-2012-01-26" style="font-size:1.2em">DFC Global Corp. Announces Record Fiscal Second Quarter Results</a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">MarketWatch (press release)</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Jan 26, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">BERWYN, Pa., Jan 26, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- DFC Global Corp. /quotes/zigman/6411860/quotes/nls/dllr DLLR +2.55% , a leading international diversified financial services company serving primarily unbanked and under-banked consumers for over 30 years, ...</div>
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and very expensive facilities needed. The market was exclusively the preserve of the big banks and other huge institutions.
There has been an enormous explosion in interest in trading the Forex markets over the last three or four years, as single individuals have discovered that they can now set up and compete on equal terms with the huge trading corporations. Individuals working from home, using a desktop pc and an internet connection can purchase and download the training and expertise they need, together with the trading software and forex data feeds also required, and the be off and running - often making more money than they could ever have managed if they had been working for one of those huge corporations referred to earlier (and keeping all of it too).
FX Traders are attracted to trading for several reasons, including:-
the volatility of the market, which gives them regular opportunities to earn money.
the enormous liquidity of the markets. Unlike most other markets, there is so much money in the system at any one time that it is almost impossible to imagine a situation where you could not trade
the exchanges are open 24 hours a day. From Monday to Friday, 24 hours per day, the market is active and money can be made.
currencies can now be traded without brokerage charges. An account with a spread trader can be set up and funded in minutes, and the only trading charge is the spread, or difference between the buying and selling price, this can be as low as 2 pips (pip is the smallest unit traded, and you can often trade as little as one or two dollars per pip)
Extremely low entry costs. A newcomer can enter the forex market for as little as the cost of a PC, some training books, videos and software, probably one or more trading systems to get him started, a datafeed to provide instant prices (good free ones are available too). That's probably under a thousand bucks to start a genuine business that (if you are successful) can produce an extremely good lifestyle.
Even lower ongoing costs. No staff, no offices, no expensive travel (unless you want to). Costs are limited to broadband running cost, a little electricity, and lots of coffee.
Tax-free status. In my country at least (The UK) I pay no tax on my trading income. With tax at 40% on earned income here, this means that instead of getting just 60 bucks out of every 100 bucks I earn, I keep the lot. And this equates to around 66% extra income (60 x 1.66 = 100). Now that's an incentive!
So if you are thinking of trading as a way of earning an online income, I say, come on in, the water's lovely. And if you are thinking that maybe you aren't cut out for this sort of thing - no math qualifications, no talent with numbers, I say rubbish!
It will cost you very little to find out if you are cut out for a trading life or not, certainly less than getting into internet marketing or establishing an offline business only to find you don't like it or can't cut it. You could even surprise yourself.
Some of the best traders I know are totally average, totally self-taught people who didn't think for a single second that they could cope with this sort of thing. Oh, and a lot of them are women!
This is the first of a short series of articles aimed at introducing newcomers to internet-based forex trading. The follow-on articles will be launched at regular intervals. This and the follow-on articles (and lots of others too) can be found at my web site (links in the final paragraph) Christopher Temple is a successful trader who writes regularly on Forex Trading Systems in his search to help beginners Learning Forex Trading Online. Visit these links to learn about his book.
Don't reprint the same version as everyone else. Get your own unique content Forex Trading System Reviews article here.
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Gold Prices Dropped while Silver was Unchanged ? USD Up vs JPY but Down vs EUR <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=20120206_futures_forex_signals_gold_euro_dollar_yen.htm" style="font-size:1.2em">Gold Prices Dropped while Silver was Unchanged ? USD Up vs JPY but Down vs EUR <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Best Syndication</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">1 hour ago </span>
<div style="width:80%;">(Best Syndication News) Brent crude oil advanced today as tensions between Iran and the United States continued to fester (see forex and commodities charts below).</div>
</div>
USD/CAD: Canadian Dollar Down on Greek Concerns, Weaker Oil Prices
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<a href="http://www.forexpros.com/analysis/usd-cad:-canadian-dollar-down-on-greek-concerns,-weaker-oil-prices-113296" style="font-size:1.2em">USD/CAD: Canadian Dollar Down on Greek Concerns, Weaker Oil Prices</a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Forex Pros</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">2 hours ago </span>
<div style="width:80%;">By GCI Financial | Forex | Feb 07, 2012 10:20AM GMT The Canadian dollar was pressurized as Greek leaders struggled with austerity measures to get a bailout, reducing demand for riskier assets.</div>
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Lack of Greek Deal Sends EUR Tumbling
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<a href="http://www.forexyard.com/en/market-analysis/lack_of_greek_deal_sends_eur_tumbling-2012-02-07" style="font-size:1.2em">Lack of Greek Deal Sends EUR Tumbling</a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Forexyard</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">3 hours ago </span>
<div style="width:80%;">The euro was largely bearish yesterday, after Greece once again failed to come to an agreement with its creditors to restructure its debt.</div>
<a href="http://www.forexpros.com/news/forex-news/forex---euro-finds-support-on-greece-deal-hopes-230012">Forex - Euro finds support on Greece deal hopes</a> - <span style="color:#888888">Forex Pros</span><br>
<a href="http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=20120205_forex_signals_usd_jpy_eur.htm">Forex Trading and Currency Exchange Rates ? USD/JPY rises as EUR/USD drops</a> - <span style="color:#888888">Best Syndication</span><br>
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Canadian Dollar (CAD) Technical Major Currencies (2012-02-07)
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<a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/294134/20120207/canadian-dollar-cad-technical-major-currencies-2012-02-07.htm" style="font-size:1.2em">Canadian Dollar (CAD) Technical Major Currencies (2012-02-07)</a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">International Business Times</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">5 hours ago </span>
<div style="width:80%;">The pair has been fluctuating with narrow ranges recently, within the descending short term channel shown on image, while MACD indicator continues to provide a bullish divergence over the four-hour timeframe, and momentum indicators are within oversold ...</div>
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British Pound Sterling: Currency continues advance against EUR, safe haven <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.euro-exchangerate.com/british-pound-eur-safe-haven-06021355.html" style="font-size:1.2em">British Pound Sterling: Currency continues advance against EUR, safe haven <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Euro Exchange Rate News</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">21 hours ago </span>
<div style="width:80%;">The Pound continued its advance against the Euro this morning, but the UK currency declined for a second day versus the US Dollar, as market speculation escalates over the prospect of further quantitative easing from the Bank of England this week.</div>
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Canadian dollar exchange rate (CAD) falls back vs USD as risk aversion takes <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.euro-exchangerate.com/canadian-dollar-cad-06021354.html" style="font-size:1.2em">Canadian dollar exchange rate (CAD) falls back vs USD as risk aversion takes <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Euro Exchange Rate News</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">22 hours ago </span>
<div style="width:80%;">The US dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate (USD/CAD) is 0.54% higher at 0.9987. The euro Canadian dollar exchange rate (EUR/CAD) is 0.39% lower at 1.3018, the pound Canadian dollar exchange rate (GBP/CAD) is 0.22% higher at 1.5746.</div>
<a href="http://www.dailyforex.com/forex-articles/2012/02/USDCAD-Daily-Outlook-Feb-7-2012/10802">USD/CAD Daily Outlook Feb. 7, 2012</a> - <span style="color:#888888">DailyForex.com</span><br>
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Canadian dollar exchange rates (CAD) are a big winner following strong Non <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.euro-exchangerate.com/canadian-dollar-exchange-rate-non-farm-03021348.html" style="font-size:1.2em">Canadian dollar exchange rates (CAD) are a big winner following strong Non <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Euro Exchange Rate News</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Feb 3, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">Canadian dollar exchange rate: Global markets have been caught by surprise following the release of strong US Non-Farm Payroll data.</div>
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Canadian Dollar (CAD) Technical Major Currencies (2012-02-03)
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<a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/292363/20120203/canadian-dollar-cad-technical-major-currencies-2012-02-03.htm" style="font-size:1.2em">Canadian Dollar (CAD) Technical Major Currencies (2012-02-03)</a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">International Business Times</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Feb 3, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">The pair has been trading within a narrow range above the 200-days SMA; the pair is having difficulties breaching this support area around the average as see on chart, while price is clearly oversold as seen on Stochastic.</div>
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Canadian dollar exchange rate: CAD finds risk environment unconstructive <b>...</b>
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<a href="http://www.euro-exchangerate.com/canadian-dollar-exchange-rate-02021342.html" style="font-size:1.2em">Canadian dollar exchange rate: CAD finds risk environment unconstructive <b>...</b></a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">Euro Exchange Rate News</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Feb 2, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">The CAD was not a participant in the overnight push up in risk currencies, with USD/CAD remaining well-entrenched in familiar ranges.</div>
<a href="http://www.forexpros.com/news/forex-news/forex---usd-cad-up-on-jobs-data-229907">Forex - USD/CAD up on jobs data</a> - <span style="color:#888888">Forex Pros</span><br>
<a href="http://www.actionforex.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=158866:mixed-reactions-in-the-us-dollar-to-the-non-farm-payroll&catid=191:daily-forex-technicals">Mixed Reactions in the US Dollar to the Non-Farm Payroll</a> - <span style="color:#888888">Action Forex</span><br>
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Canadian Dollar (CAD) Technical Major Currencies (2012-02-02)
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<a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/291619/20120202/canadian-dollar-cad-technical-major-currencies-2012-02-02.htm" style="font-size:1.2em">Canadian Dollar (CAD) Technical Major Currencies (2012-02-02)</a>
<br> <span style="color:#888888;">International Business Times</span> - <span style="white-space:nowrap">Feb 2, 2012 </span>
<div style="width:80%;">The pivotal support around 0.9965 is still providing the pair with a good support as seen on the provided four-hour chart. The struggle around the middle line of the descending channel that dominated the movements from 1.0285 zones continues fixing RSI ...</div>
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This is the process where a trader simultaneously buy one currency and sell another.
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