Forex Term

Types of Forex Order

Entry Orders: An order, stop or limit, initiating an open position and executed when a specific price level is reached and/or broken. The execution is handled by the dealing desk and the order is in effect until cancelled by the client.

Entry Limit Orders: An order initiating
an open position to sell as the market rises, or buy as the market falls. The
client believes the market will reverse direction at the level of the order.

Entry Stop Orders: An order initiating
an open position to sell as the market falls, or buy as the market rises. The
client placing the order believes that prices will continue to move in the same direction
as the previous momentum after hitting the order level.

Limit Orders: A limit order is an order
tied to a specific position for the purpose of locking in the gains from that position. A limit order placed on a buy position is an order to sell. A limit
order placed on a sell position is an order to buy. A limit order remains in
effect until the position is liquidated or cancelled by the client.

Market Order: An order to buy or sell
which is to be filled immediately at the prevailing currency price.

OCO (One Cancels the Other): A stop-loss order and a limit order linked to a specific position. One order, the stop, is to prevent additional loss on the position, and one order, the limit is to take profit on the position. When either order is executed, closing the position, the other is automatically cancelled.

Stop-Loss Orders: An order linked to a specific position to close that position and prevent additional losses. A stop-loss order placed on a buy position is an order to sell that position. A stop-loss order on a sell position is an order to buy that position. A stop-loss order remains in effect until the position is liquidated or cancelled by the client.

Hedge fund: A private, unregulated investment fund for wealthy investors (minimum investments typically begin at US$1 million) specializing in high risk, short-term speculation on bonds, currencies, stock options and derivatives.


Hedging: A strategy designed to reduce investment risk. Its purpose is to reduce the volatility of a portfolio by investing in alternative instruments that offset the risk in the primary portfolio.

Leverage: The degree to which an investor or business is utilizing borrowed money. The amount, expressed as a multiple, by which the notional amount traded exceeds the margin required to trade. For example, if the notional amount traded is $100,000 dollars and the required margin is $2000, the trader can trade with 50 times leverage ($100,000/$2000). For investors, leverage means buying on margin to enhance return on value without increasing investment. Leveraged investing can be extremely risky because you can lose not only your money, but the money you borrowed as well.


Liquidity: The ability of a market to accept large transactions. A function of volume and activity in a market. It is the efficiency and cost effectiveness with which positions can be traded and orders executed. A more liquid market will provide more frequent price quotes at a smaller bid/ask spread.

Long: A position purchasing a particular currency against another currency, anticipating that the value of the purchased currency will appreciate against the second currency.


Margin: Funds that customers must deposit as collateral to cover any potential losses from adverse movements in prices.

Margin Call: A requirement for additional funds or other collateral, from a broker or dealer, to increase margin to a necessary level to guarantee performance on a position that has moved against the customer.

Market Maker: A dealer that supplies prices, and is prepared to buy and sell at those bid and ask prices. All CFTC registered FCMs are market makers.


Pip (tick): The term used in currency markets to represent the smallest incremental move an exchange rate can make. Depending on context, normally one basis point (0.0001 in the case of EUR/USD, GBD/USD, USD/CHF and .01 in the case of USD/JPY).

Position: A view expressed by a trader through the buying or selling of currencies, and can also refer to the amount of currency either owned or owed by an investor.

Rollover: The settlement of a deal is rolled forward to another value date with the cost of this process based on the interest rate differential of the two currencies. An overnight swap, specifically the next business day against the following business day.


Short: To sell a currency without actually owning it, and to hold a short position with expectations that the price will decrease so that it can be bought back at a later time at a profit.

Spread: The difference between the bid and offer (ask) prices of a currency; used to measure market liquidity. Narrower spreads usually signify high liquidity.

Spot Price: Current market price. Settlement of spot transactions normally occurs within two business days.

Swaps: A foreign exchange swap is a trade that combines both a spot and a forward transaction into one deal, or two forward trades with different maturity dates.