There are a huge number of online Forex brokers to be found on the internet, some more reputable than others. However, there is one name that everybody in the world of Forex trading has heard of, a site that many of us have used – eToro. So, why do so many Forex traders choose eToro as their preferred online Forex broker?
Firstly, eToro has one of the most welcoming Forex communities to be found anywhere. From the word go you will be offered help and support from both staff and fellow Forex traders. The OpenBook is the epitome of this community hub, where you can follow and chat to traders, watch your favourite traders’ positions being opened and closed, and even copy other traders’ transactions in a bid to share their success.
The coming week is going to be filled with a number of events, releases and publications that will shape the fortunes of the world’s Forex markets, but it’s the news from the UK and the US that we’re focussing on. The week ahead for traders of dollars and pounds will be filled with key events that will shape the fortunes of the USD and GBP at eToro and across the world’s Forex markets.
On Monday, the most notable event will be the release of the UK’s industry data on house price inflation, which is a leading indicator of demand in the housing market and a good indicator of the strength of the British economy as a whole. Also on Monday, the US will release a host of reports that include data on retail sales, manufacturing activity in New York and government data on net long-term securities transactions, all of which will shape the fortunes of the US dollar at Forex markets across the globe.
During today’s trading sessions, Forex traders saw the US dollar slide, with the greenback losing ground against the euro, Swiss franc and Australian dollar amidst fears of further quantitative easing measures following remarks by the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, with traders. Forex traders at eToro and other online brokers saw the EUR/USD currency pair climb by over 0.3% following the news.
However, many of you may be asking why would the suggestion of quantitative easing in the US cause the dollar to slide? Quantitative easing is a measure used by central banks to stimulate growth in a country’s economy. This is done by the purchase financial assets, which injects a predetermined quantity of money into the economy, often used to keep interest rates at a specific level. However, this practice comes with risks.
If you’re new to the world of Forex trading or if you’re considering this exciting venture as a new investment method, you can find out all that you need to know to get you started at eToro. Thousands of people learn to trade Forex online with eToro every year, thanks to their wide array of tools and guides to get you on your way.
For starters, eToro offers a practice account that allows you to trade real-time and real-price Forex currency pairs online but without the risk of losing any of your hard earned cash. However, even using a practice account, you can still earn money trading online Forex with eToro thanks to the trading challenges.
For the past five weeks the price of gold has made consistent gains but many market analysts believe that this week may see the price of the precious metal retreat a little. However, this dip is believed to be a short term trend that will quickly reverse, as many traders at eToro and other commodities trading sites are predicting that gold prices are set to rise during 2012.
The price of gold fell during Friday’s New York trading session, closing at $1,740.30 an ounce, which was down on the day but marginally up on the week once again. The main catalyst for the sudden dip in the price of gold on Friday was strong US employment figures and the news of 243,000 jobs being created, which boosted the strength of the US dollar. Because gold is traded in US dollars, the stronger the dollar is the weaker gold is. This is why gold struggled against the strong dollar on Friday.
With all of the doom and gloom around the world such as civil unrest, global recession and natural disasters it seems bizarre to hear that online Forex trading is as popular as ever, with more and more retail investors taking investments into their own hands at sites such as eToro. Over the last few years there has been a huge breakthrough made by leading online Forex brokers in a bid to bring Forex trading to the everyman.
Not so long ago, Forex trading was an investment opportunity that was only available to banks, brokers and the privileged few. But thanks to the accessibility of online Forex trading for you and me, without the need for huge investment and with a massive amount of support, Forex trading is no longer an exclusive opportunity.
After OpenBook, a highly innovative piece of software from eToro comes something tied in and potentially even better. Launched this Summer, Copy Trader allows you to select Forex and Commodity traders from OpenBook to copy their trades automatically. You can only allocate 20% of your account to these copies, and you get to invest 10% of the traders trade, so unless you’ve got a huge account you’re not going to make a mil overnight.
Having said that, if you look at what is going on at the platform, it’s quite obvious that a lot of traders see it as a valuable tool. So, it’s time to revisit it, and take a look at the ‘ups and downs’ of this fascinating new product.
Just select, click and sit back, goes the blurb, no need to learn about trading etc, all on autopilot. Hmm… Now this software is great, but as we all know there is no such thing as a magic bullet, although in this case, it could be referred to as a ‘smart bullet’ (in the right hands).
You will need to pick your traders carefully, based on a variety of criterion. If you listened to the ‘pitch’ (and believed it), you could go away for a few weeks vacation, safe in the knowledge that your account will be a lot bigger in the black on your return.
Hmmm… Worst case scenario, while you’re away, Rod, Jane, and Freddy all for some reason simultaneously go bonkers, and rack up a load of losing trades – which have been automatically copied to your account. All very unlikely, but, in this game you’ve always got to be aware of the potential downside, even more so when you are literally putting your hard earned cash in someone else’s hands.
So you are probably not going to get wiped out, but the point is, you cannot leave anything to run on autopilot without at least checking in on a pretty much daily basis. A trader that you are copying may decide to experiment with a new currency pair, or commodity, which may not suit their style, and bang, a run of losing trades reflected in your ‘p and l’.
In short this is a potentially great tool which needs a bit of care in use, and attention to detail. If you would like to check what types of elements you should be looking at when copying traders, then head on over to a newly launched Copy Trader learning site, which is taking an experimental look at the software to assess it’s viability, and to create a learning base for new traders.
The site is taking real examples using a demo account, and at the very least gives new traders a couple of ideas on where to start with Copy Trader.
Once again, the euro suffered as the Greece debt crisis continued to top the headlines of most financial news pages. The euro lost more than 1.5 per cent against the US dollar during Friday’s Forex trading sessions at eToro and at other Forex markets, and today, to make matters worse, the Greek Prime Minister has said that Greece cannot meet the agreed repayment plan required to secure the IMF bailout funds on offer.
In a cabinet meeting today, the Greek Government proposed a move that would see civil servants who are approaching retirement age being put in ‘reserve’ or being suspending at reduced rate of pay. However, this, and the many other austerity measures proposed, still won’t be enough to meet the repayment quota that’s a condition of the next £1.6 billion instalment of the total £94 billion rescue plan.
If you’re looking for a place to trade Forex online, look no further than eToro. Award winning Forex broker eToro offers a simple and easy place to trade the world’s leading currency pairs and commodities from a PC or mobile phone but these aren’t the only eToro Forex trading benefits. There are many, many other reasons why you should choose eToro as your preferred online Forex broker.
If you’re new to the world of online Forex trading then eToro has everything you could need (and more) to start you off on your Forex journey. eToro offers a fantastic practice mode, which offers you the opportunity to trade Forex in real time at real prices but with virtual funds, eliminating any risk whatsoever. There’s also a comprehensive Forex education centre that offers a wide range of courses and advice areas where you can find out exactly how to become a successful Forex trader.
Despite disappointing US non-farm payroll numbers, the euro continued to fall against the dollar during a busy end to the Forex trading week. Forex traders at eToro witnessed the single European currency continue its recent slide throughout Friday, only recovering slightly when the Federal Reserve released the eagerly anticipated employment figures.
Pressure has once again been mounting on the euro as further debt worries for Greece and its economy continued to make Forex traders wary of the euro. During Friday’s trading sessions the EUR/USD currency pair fell as low as 1.4185 before recovering slightly ahead of the weekend close of the world’s Forex markets.
The GBP/USD made some hefty gains as the US employment data was released, soaring to 1.6251. However, the pound’s advances were short-lived as investors dumped the pound, taking quick profits, not wanting to risk holding the UK currency over the weekend. This is because the UK is due to release its PMI numbers on Monday and analysts believe that the news won’t be good.
So, one busy week of Forex trading has drawn to a close and another one will start on Monday, and it should be a busy Monday indeed. As we’ve mentioned, the UK is due to release its PMI numbers for August, which, many believe, will show a poor performance for the UK economy. But, if the numbers are good, following today’s mass selling of the pound, the UK currency will shoot up. This may only be a short spike so be ready to act fast.
If you’re not already trading Forex you can open a new online trading account by visiting www.eToro.com. eToro is one of the internet’s leading online Forex trading sites, with many unique education and training opportunities, a wide choice of instruments and a welcome Forex bonus of up to $10,000 when you first fund your trading account.
