Forex trading is the most preferred mode of trading due to high leverage and profits. Many traders do not thoroughly understand the term and the concept of leverage. What is leverage, and how does leveraging work in forex markets? Trading requires you to study the market continuously. Read on to understand what is forex trading and leverage.
What Is Leverage?
Leverage in forex trading is the ability to use limited funds to gain higher profitability. Generally, a trader uses borrowed capital to trade for higher returns. The concept of leverage (borrowing people’s money to make profits) is used in forex trading. However, leverage does not guarantee profits, and the trader is predisposed to losses in equal measures.
How Does Leverage Work?
Leverage is used by investors and companies to increase their profitability. Companies use leverage for financing their assets and debt management. So, instead of raising capital using stocks, most companies prefer leveraging to fund business operations. Investors use leverage to increase their profitability for their investments.
In forex trading, the broker provides leverage to the traders using margin trading. Margin is the amount of money needed to deposit with the brokerage known as the ‘good faith deposit.’ The brokerage uses this pool of money to lend to traders with no or lesser trading capital. The broker gives you leverage based on your margin.
The amount of leverage differs across different trading platforms. It mainly depends on the trading conditions of the brokerage firm.
How to Calculate Leverage in Forex
Every broker issues leverage based on the terms and conditions. However, there are two types of leverages; the real and margin-based leverage. Here is how to calculate them:
The Real Leverage= the value of transaction/ Trading Capital
Margin-based leverage= Total value of transaction/ the required margin
As a trader, to choose the right type of leverage to use, consider your vision of the upcoming market trends and your trading strategy.
Before you start trading, you need to learn and understand the types and the effects of leveraging for a successful trading endeavor.
When you are starting forex trading, experiment with leverage that is within your trading strategy for a while, then as you gain more experience, you can broaden your trading wings to identify the most suitable leverage to suit your trading needs.
How do You Manage Risks in Leverage in Forex Trading
Although trading and leveraging increase your chances of higher profitability, you are likely to incur huge losses too. Before you start trading on leverage, you should analyze and take the necessary risk management strategies. For instance, to minimize the risks of leveraging, make use of the trailing stops, keep the positions small, and limit the trading capital for each post.
The thumb rule is, consider smaller leverage if you intend to keep the trading positions open for long. On the other hand, if you are planning to use the open position that lasts for a few minutes or hours, it means you are aiming for higher profits. Therefore, consider higher leverage to increase your chances for higher profit margins.
What are the Benefits of Trading and Leveraging?
The forex markets are generally dull. Leverage makes trading exciting and vibrant by increasing the financial abilities of the trader.
- Alleviates Low Volatility
One of the significant benefits of trading and leveraging is that it reduces low volatility. The forex markets are on the low volatility due to the nature of the trading currencies and other external factors. Leveraging helps deliver higher profits, which lowers the effects of low volatility in forex trading.
- Leverage Increases Profits
One of the significant reasons for leverage is to up the trading chances for the trader and eventually increase the profitability. It does not matter if you are staking large or small amounts of capital, leveraging earns you profits. In most forex markets, leverage gets as high as 100:1. It means that for $1,000, you can trade up to $100,000.
- It Boosts the Trading Capital
Trading capital is an asset capable of yielding higher profits. Leveraging increases your trading capital to up your chances for higher profits and high ROI within a short period.
Conclusion
Compared to other types of financial traders, forex traders enjoy higher profits due to leveraging that is not present in other forms of trading. However, as a trader, remember that leverage does not guarantee high profitability always. You are likely to make either profit or incur losses in equal measures. Do not be afraid to use leverage in forex trading, for successful and profitable trading; learn how to manage to forex trade, and to leverage properly.
Disclaimer: This is a paid post and should not be considered as news/advice.
