Coping With Forex Trading Risk

The forex trading with $1.3 trillion market is larger than every other market combined. Forex trading is available to everybody to trade with the same risk and reward. Movement of market in forex can be quickly or sharp in negative or positive direction. You can manage your risk by understanding how this unique market works and what drives it up and down. It will interest you to know that forex market carries higher risk than any other market.
The market movement can fluctuate for reasons out of our control and unforeseeable including changes in political and economic policies. These unpredictable situations are what drives the value of the currencies up and down, thereby changing their values in respect to other currencies. It is this very volatility that attracts investors. It is necessary that you understand all your buying and selling options so that you appropriately react to these currency fluctuations immediately.
Be determined to manage trades without emotion as it can help you manage your risk. Map out the percentage you are willing to risk on each trade and stick with it. When you have multiple trade open, it's important to stay on top of the percentage that you have at risk because multiple losses can be devastating and one big loss can wipe out all your other profits.
If your trading platform provides the ability to set stop losses, you should determine your stop loss at the time you enter a trade and set it. When your stop loss is reached, your trade will automatically be closed limiting your potential loss.
It is important to take the volatility of the market into account when determining your stop loss amount. If you set it too large, you could lose a significant amount of money before the stop loss is triggered. If you set it too small, the random ups and downs in the market will mean that your position is being closed early incurring additional transaction costs.
Avoid currencies that are closely related. It is a smart risk management strategy to avoid trading two currencies that tend to move together like the British pound and the Euro. These currencies are correlated. The most common pairing is the US dollar and the Euro.
You should avoid taking a long and short position in currencies which generally move in opposite directions. You are taking more risk than you need to do.
Finally, don't gamble. If you've lost money on your previous few trades, don't double-up your next trade in order to recoup your previous losses.
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Agwu Chukwuemeka Odi is an expert in the field of forex trading and stock trading online. Visit http://forexonlineinseconds.blogspot.com for more information on forex trading.
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