When it comes to the forex market, failing to plan is planning to fail. The more strategies you master, the more likely you are to consistently profit.
The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, experiencing a daily trading volume of more than $ 6 trillion.
Forex trading is the process of speculating on currency prices to potentially make a profit. Currencies are traded in pairs, so by exchanging one currency for another, a trader is speculating on whether one currency will rise or fall in value against the other.
The value of a currency pair is influenced by trade flows, economic, political and geopolitical events which affect the supply and demand of forex. This creates daily volatility that may offer a forex trader new opportunities.
The daily forex trading in South Africa is estimated to be around $19 million and the South African rand is also in the top 20 currencies that are traded most, with an annual trading volume that exceeds 1 trillion.
Forex trading has increased significantly in South Africa over the past years as it has become widely accepted as a hobby, side-hustle, and even as a professional career for many.
Forex trading, like many other investments, has a risk warning attached to it as many retail traders can lose significant amounts of capital as forex is a leveraged financial instrument.
Forex Regulation
Forex regulation is a crucial component that South African traders must verify before they deal with forex brokers.
Regulation involves licensing and authorization from market regulators such as the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, and several others.
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The FSCA is a reputable and trusted regulator that oversees all Financial Service Providers and provides South Africans with the support and protection that they need.
The forex market is flooded with many unregulated brokers who offer trading accounts and competitive trading conditions to South African investors, but who cannot prove that client fund security is secured and that South African traders are safe when they trade foreign currency and other financial instruments.
When trading forex, South African traders must verify regulation and authorization as regulators overview the trading activity of FSCA-regulated brokers, whether they can meet their financial obligations, and whether they can provide a fair and safe trading environment.
Forex Brokers In South Africa
South African traders do not have a short supply of forex brokers that are based in the country and who accept traders from South Africa and other African Countries.
South Africa has a solid foot in the forex market and most forex brokers offer a variety of currency pairs that can be traded.
These brokers offer South Africans with low minimum deposit requirements, tight spreads, low commissions, and a wide range of tradable instruments.
South African traders can use a wide range of trading strategies when dealing with these brokers and they are provided with negative balance protection, popular trading platforms, and a choice in retail investor accounts.
Forex Costs And Fees
The forex market is the most liquid in the world, and this means that forex brokers in South Africa can charge lower transaction costs. However, not all brokers are the same and forex traders are urged to do an in-depth broker comparison to find the forex broker that offers the right trading conditions.
Forex traders must consider the spreads, commissions, overnight fees, conversion fees, margin requirements, leverage, and several other fees to ensure that it is aligned with their unique trading plan.
In addition to these costs and fees, traders must consider non-trading fees such as inactivity, withdrawal and deposit fees, and any additional fees that they may encounter. It is essential that traders determine how much forex trading will cost them, and how much free capital they can dedicate according to their unique financial situation.
Strong regulation and its relative economic power give South Africans confidence to trade forex. The rand has remained within the top 20 currencies since 2004. And it’s the African currency to achieve this ranking in the forex market.
Making Money with Forex in South Africa
There are many ways to make money in the forex market outside of the traditional “buy low, sell high” mantra (which works just fine as well). The more you know, the more likely you are to see opportunities as they come.
- Carry trading: You can make money on the directional movement of a currency pair, but you can also make movement on the interbank interest rate of a currency. When you hold a currency in forex, that’s just like holding it in a bank. You gain interest on your holdings. Carry traders try to profit from the difference in interest rates of various currencies.
- Binary options: Instead of taking profit or loss based on the real time movement of a currency pair, you can participate in all or nothing options. If a currency is at a certain price on a certain date, you win money. If it is lower than the pre-established price on that date, you lose your investment.
- Shorting: If you think the value of a currency will decrease in the future, you can borrow that currency and sell it at a high price to buy it back cheaper later. This is known as shorting a currency.
Take a Look at The richest forex traders in South Africa
