Skip to content In this free trading course, discover the marché des changeshow forex works, learn how to read a chart currency pairand how the exchange rates evolves.
Independent trader since 2012
Forex (short forForeign Exchange"The foreign exchange market is a global financial space where currencies are traded continuously. Unlike the stock market, where you buy company shares, here you buy and sell currencies Euro, dollar, yen, pound sterling, etc.
Exchanges are made online, without a centralized locationand are continuing 24 hours a dayfrom Sunday evening to Friday evening. It's a extremely active marketThis is a market where banks, companies, investment funds and, increasingly, private individuals, buy and sell currencies according to their needs or expectations.
If so many people want learn to trade ForexIt's not for nothing. The foreign exchange market has unique features suitable for both novice and experienced traders.
It's a ultra-liquid market. With billions traded every day, buy and sell orders are instantaneous, and fees (called spreads) are often very low.
You can access it with little capital. You don't have to be rich to start trading currencies.
You can trade whenever you want. Forex is active from Sunday evening to Friday evening, 24 hours a day.
You can win in both directions. Whether the market goes up or down, you can profit from it. What counts is your ability to analyze movements and understand the context. In Chapter 4, you'll learn how to reading a stock chart to develop this skill.
Leverage effect available. You can take a position in the Forex market with an amount greater than your actual capital. This can increase your gains... but also your losses. Handle with care.
But be careful:
Just because the Forex market is open to everyone doesn't mean it's easy to master.
Now that you know what the forex market is and why it attracts so many traders, it's time to understand how Forex works, concretely.
Forex is based on a well-established hierarchy of players.
The interbank market
This is the top of the pyramid. The world's major banks exchange currencies by the hundreds of millions. This is where "real" exchange rates are formed.
Financial institutions
Pension fundsThey exchange currencies to cover their needs or optimize their investments.
Brokers and market makers
They are the intermediaries between the interbank market and individual traders. We'll look at them in detail in the next chapter.
Individual traders
Thanks to a simple Internet connection, we now have access to the foreign exchange market once reserved for professionals. It's a revolution in the world of finance.
Forex is a global market, which means it keeps pace with the world's major financial centers. It is open to Sunday 10 pm to Friday 10 pm (Paris time), without interruption.
Each trading day is divided into trading sessionsdepending on time zone:
| Session | Hours (Paris) | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 11pm - 8am | Quiet, low volumes. Active AUD/NZD. |
| Tokyo | 01h - 10h | JPY active, slow but steady movements. |
| London | 09h - 18h | Most active, high volatility. |
| New York | 2pm - 11pm | USD dominant, peak business with London. |
Practical tip: The best times to learn to trade Forex are during the overlaps London/New York (2pm-6pm)where liquidity is at a maximum.
You can download our practical PDF sheets showing the times of the various trading sessions (in summer and winter time) in different time zones - Metropolitan France, New York, India, etc...
Each trading session has its own rhythm. Here's how to make the most of it:
Asian session (Tokyo) :
➤ Slower, often predictable movements.
➤ Ideal for observing and taking the time to analyze.
European session (London) :
➤ High volatility as soon as forex opens.
➤ European economic announcements create many opportunities.
American session (New York) :
➤ Strong activity on the US dollar.
➤ US publications are influencing the forex market overall.
An experienced trader always adapts his strategy to the forex timetable. Some prefer calm phases to enter the market with peace of mind, while others aim for volatility peaks to seize fast-moving opportunities. When you start trading, you'll need to adapt your trading strategy depending on the time, context and economic announcements.
Not all moments are created equal. Here are the ones where it's best to be extra careful:
Sunday evening Market recovery = risk of price gaps.
Friday afternoon : Massive fencing of pros before the weekend.
Weekend The Forex market is closed, making it impossible to act in the event of a major event.
Public holidays Low volumes, often wider spreads.
Important economic announcements Rapid, sometimes violent movements.
You've probably heard of trading stocks, crypto-currencies or even gold or oil. So why focus on the foreign exchange market? To understand it, it's useful to compare its broad characteristics with those of other financial markets.
Forex is a global marketIt is open 24 hours a day from Sunday evening to Friday evening. It is strongly supervised by the financial authorities and accessible with a relatively low start-up capital. Its volatility remains moderate to high, depending on the period, making it a good learning ground. It's a technical market, but not too complex for beginners well-trained.
The stock market allows you tobuy shares in companies. It is highly regulated, but operates on a voluntary basis. fixed hours (e.g. 9am to 5:30pm in Europe). It often requires a greater capital to effectively diversify your positions. Volatility is generally lower than in Forex, but movements can be slower.
Cryptos are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their volatility is very high, which can generate rapid gains, but also sudden losses. This market is still largely unregulated, which can pose problems in terms of safety or transparency. It is often perceived as easier to access... but beware of appearances.
Trading gold, oil or other natural resources requires a solid understanding of economic and geopolitical factors. Movements can be violent, due to announcements or international tensions. The capital required is often higher, and so are the costs (spreads or commissions).
⇒ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The market for Forex is accessible, liquid, very active and well supervised.
Visit Stock exchange is more stable but limited in terms of hours.
Visit cryptos attract by their total availability, but their high volatility makes them unpredictable.
Visit raw materials require a good knowledge of world markets and geopolitics.
→ Forex offers a good compromise between accessibility, flexibility and regulatory structure. This is one of the reasons why it is often recommended for learning to tradeThe key is to take it step by step, and get the right training.
On the foreign exchange market, you don't buy a currency "on its own": you buy a currency "in its own right". currency against another. This is what we call a currency pair.
For example:
EUR/USD = 1.0850
This means that one euro is worth 1.0850 US dollars.
→ EUR is the base currency (the one you buy or sell).
→ USD is the quote currency (the one you pay with).
When you open a position on a pair, you have two choices:
Buy (long) EUR/USD = you expect the euro will rise against the dollar.
Sell (short) EUR/USD = you expect the euro will fall against the dollar.
You place a buy or sell order on the basis of a technical analysiswhich you'll learn to do in the following chapters.
When you consult a price chart on your trading platform, you don't see just one price, but two:
The BID the price at which you can sell the pair
ASK the price at which you can buy the pair
What's the SPREAD in trading? It's the difference between these two prices.
The spread represents the entry fee of your trade. The lower it is, the better the market is for you.
Example:
EUR/USD Bid: 1.0848
EUR/USD Ask: 1.0850
Spread : 2 pips (i.e. 0.0002)
→ Un pip is the unit of minimum variation on most pairs (often the 4th decimal place, but it depends on the currency pair). This is how we measure market movements in Forex.
When you trade on the foreign exchange market, you have access to dozens of currency pairs. These are generally grouped into three main categoriesaccording to their popularity, trading volume and volatility.
1. Major pairs
These are the most widely traded on the Forex market. They include always the US dollar (USD)the world's most widely used currency. They are highly liquid, well-analyzed, and generally have the lowest spreads - perfect for learn to trade currencies.
Here are a few examples:
EUR/USD The most traded pair in the world. It alone accounts for around 30 % of Forex volume.
GBP/USD Also known as "Cable". More volatile than EUR/USD.
USD/JPY Very active during the Asian session. It often reflects the overall mood of the market.
USD/CHF Stable, often used as a safe haven.
→ Why start with major pairs?
Very low spreads (less than 2 pips on EUR/USD)
Maximum liquidity = fast order execution
More regular and predictable movements
2. Minor (or crossed) pairs
These pairs cross two currencies not including the U.S. dollar. Trading volume is lower than on the majors, and spreads can be a little higher. They are interesting, but require a little more experience.
Examples of minor pairs:
EUR/GBP Less volatile, interesting for observing economic differences between Europe and the UK.
EUR/JPY More mobile, often used for medium-term strategies.
GBP/JPY Highly volatile. Reserved for more advanced traders.
→ Please note: minor pairs react to several savings at the same timeThis means keeping up to date with the latest economic news.
3. Exotic pairs
These pairs combine a major currency (such as the euro or the dollar) to a foreign currency. emerging country or less liquid (such as the Turkish lira, South African rand or Mexican peso).
Examples:
USD/TRY (dollar/Turkish lira)
EUR/ZAR (euro/South African rand)
USD/MXN (dollar/Mexican peso)
To be avoided as a beginner:
Very high spreads (sometimes 50 to 100 pips)
High volatility, sudden movements
Low liquidity = slippage and sometimes poor execution
More complex analysis, due to lack of reliable information
For investing in Forex it is essential to understand which influences currency fluctuations. Contrary to popular belief, it's not traders who move the market, but global economic, political and psychological factors.
Here are the most important ones to know:
As in any market, the price of a currency depends on the balance between those who want to buy it... and those who want to sell it.
➤ The more a currency is in demand (e.g. because the country's economy is in good shape), the more its value increases.
➤ Conversely, if investors flee a currency, its price is falling.
Some publications have a direct and immediate impact on currencies. These are high-stakes moments for traders.
The most watched :
Unemployment rate
Inflation (CPI)
GDP
Balance of trade
Monetary policy decisions
→ These announcements are known in advance thanks to the economic calendar, which you'll learn to read in the next chapters.
Decisions and speeches by central banks such as ECB (Europe), the Fed (United States), or the BoJ (Japan) may cause the foreign exchange market to react in just a few seconds.
Why? Because they directly influence :
Visit interest rate
Money supply trends
Investor confidence in the country's economy
A good Forex trader needs to keep an eye on :
Visit key rates
Visit economic growth
Visit public debt
The general political climate
All these elements give signals about the strength of a currency.
The foreign exchange market doesn't like uncertainty. A tense election, a war, a health crisis or a political statement can provoke strong reactions in certain currencies.
This is why certain assets are called "safe-havenssuch as :
Visit yen (JPY)
Visit Swiss franc (CHF)
Visit US dollar (USD) in times of global crisis
Now that you understand better what is the forex marketyou're probably wondering where to start.
Here are the 4 fundamental steps that every beginner should follow. It's a gradual process, and that's just as well, because each of these steps corresponds to the rest of this Forex course.
Before you do anything, you need to discover and learn how to use trading platforms and tools.
You'll start with :
Choose a regulated broker (more on this in the next module),
Open a trading account in demonstration (free, no risk),
Familiarize yourself with trading platform (charts, order books, order types, etc.).
This is where you'll get your bearings, test and manipulate to understand how it works.
Trading is all about analysis. And for that, you have two main tools:
→ Technical analysisbased on graphs, trends, key levels and indicators.
→ Fundamental analysisbased on economic news, interest rates, official announcements and central bank decisions.
You're going to learn how to use both. This is the core of your trading business, and will be the focus of the next few chapters.
Before taking a single position, you need to know how you want to tradeand under what conditions. This is what we call a trading plan.
It will help you :
Choose a strategy adapted to your pace, objectives and profile,
Manage your risk methodically (we'll talk about money management),
Be disciplined, because as we shall see, trading is an emotional activity.
For serious training, always practice demo account for several months.
What you need to do:
Record each of your trades in a trading journal,
Analyze what you've done well... and what you can do better,
Building you robust automationbased on experience.
It's this routine of analysis, adjustment and rigor that will help you progress in your learning to trade.
In the next chapter
In the next chapter of this free trading trainingNow we're going to move on to the actual setting up of your trading environment. You can continue now or come back later: don't hesitate to put this page in your favorites.
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