Forex, short for foreign exchange trading is the act of trading currencies.  The forex trader has to take into account many different factors when trading which can change daily. Many traders are new to trading currencies. Many retirees have entered the game to supplement their income since interest rates on bank CD rates are which has affected their income in a big way. Other traders include equity traders who find trading forex more profitable than trading equities since they can leverage more with less money.

The fundamentals include how a country’s economy is doing which have a big bearing on its currency’s exchange rate. Not only is the economy important but the rate of inflation and the interest rates the country’s central bank has determined is needed to control inflation.

Other factors include any political issues and developments, the government’s economic policy but the relevant decisions made by a country’s central bank is probably most important. The trader of currencies, the rorex trader, needs to be aware of all these developments from the beginning before he or she takes a position. Failure to take fundamental factors in consideration isn’t a wise thing to do even for the most experienced trader.

The forex market is huge, about 2.8 trillion dollars is traded each day on the foreign exchange market. The forex market is also one of the most liquid markets to trade in. Liquidity is important because it narrows spreads between buyers and sellers making the market more effient. Forex trading is differnt from trading equities.
 
The forex markets are available for trading 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. Of course there are certain times that are more liquid than other times.