Forex Trading in Australia

FxScouts is a guide to Forex trading written by experienced Forex traders for new Australian Forex traders.  We compare brokers against each other and reviews using a transparent methodology, share insights from our own trading experience and have an education section to encourage readers to study the strategy of trading. This Forex guide puts the reader first, and believe it or not, this is not common in our industry. The Forex trading broker industry is big business, and thus they use large marketing budgets to entice comparison websites to improve ratings, falsely adjust opinions and outright promote untruths. While we are a reader-supported magazine ourselves (more on this below), our promise to you is that we will always write our reviews based on our experience and following our editorial standards.

Top Forex Trading Brokers Compared

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Beginners Guide to Forex Trading

[toc] Thе Fоrеx mаrkеt іѕ a wоrldwіdе decentralised fіnаnсіаl market whеrе сurrеnсіеѕ are trаdеd. Forex trading is buying or selling currencies to make a profit from the fluctuations in the currency market.  Buy low, and sell high. Forex Trading is CFD Trading.  In CFD trading, the trader never takes ownership of the asset itself. Instead, the trader is only speculating on the price of a currency.  Just because you are trading the US Dollar against the Aussie Dollar, does not mean that you own either one of them at any point in time. Forex trading involves risk, and inexperienced traders can quickly lose all their money because the Forex market is volatile and impossible to predict.  Use a risk management strategy because 70-95% of retail traders lose money. Forex profits are taxable.  If you make money, you are required to include it on your tax declaration just as you do with gains from other investments. Forex brokers are not all equal.  Forex brokers are in business too, and each will be trying to make money from your trades.  STP brokers will take a commission for handling your trades, while others will make money by stretching the difference between the buying and selling price of the pair.  This difference is known as the spread, and while having a spread is normal, when it gets too wide, it eats into your profits. If you are only interested in trading with brokers regulated in Australia, our full list of ASIC regulated brokers is here.

How Do You Get Started

1. To get started with trading, make sure that you are aware you could lose your money.
2. Read our what is Forex trading article.
3. Get familiar with the different trading platforms.
4. If you are new to Forex trading, you should open a demo account where you practice with fake money using real market data.  Zero risks here.  A good first step.
5. Read as much as you can from our education section, and read as much as you can.
6. Try to understand what kind of trader you are.  It will help you understand how Forex trading is going to fit into your life.

How We Compare Brokers

How To Choose A Broker

I already mentioned that all brokers are not equal, and while true, there are easy ways to spot good brokers from the bad.

• Regulation – Is your broker regulated by ASIC (Australia), FCA (UK) or CySec (European Union)?  These are arguably the top regulators of non-banking financial services around the world, so trading at a broker that does not have one or more of these regulation opens you up to unnecessary risk.
• Broker Commissions – Does your broker make money from the spread?  Is the spread tight?  You are better off with a broker that has tighter spreads because it means you can profit more.
• Minimum Deposit – Make sure you are comfortable with the minimum deposit being asked.  But don’t be fooled by offers of low minimum deposits.  If you plan to take advantage of leverage and get tighter spreads, you will likely need to invest a minimum of $200 to get a good account.
• Withdrawal and Deposits – It is your money, and the broker must treat it as such.  If they charge you to withdraw or deposit, you should discuss this with your account manager or choose a different broker.

Traders Have Personality Types

Each Forex trader has this own style and strategy.  It is common that people trade in different ways and on different time schedules.  Each of the methods of trading depends on different trading skillsets and time available, making each unique.

• Scalping –  This is where traders make lots of trades over a brief period.  Trades are usually kept open for a matter of minutes in extremely volatile periods on the market.  These times would be when markets open or when major new economic reports are released.  This trader is heavily reliant on charts and tools to plan the entry and exit of trades.  So if you are good with this kind of analysis and have the time available to be in front of your computer during trading times, this could be for you.
• Day Trading – For this trader, each day starts new.  Every morning the trading starts and investments are made, and then before everyone goes home, all of the positions are closed.  This trading relies heavily on understanding the planned news events for the day and the ability of the trader to find opportunities in the new developments that happen without notice.  If you are well-read and understand Geo-politics, then you could be a day trader.  Just be ready to get a little involved in charts for analysis.
• Swing Trading – If you have a little less time for being in front of a computer, but you are still very engaged with news events, analysis and the significant trends you could be a swing trader.  These traders can hold trades open for days at a time, and if you are a trader on the go, this could be better suited for you.  It does not rely on charts as day trading and scalping do.
• Position Trader – For those who want to play the long game, there is position trading.  This trading styles does rely on any technical analysis and instead takes advantage of the long-term currency trends.  Position traders can hold trades open for months.

Thе Australian Dollar (AUD)

Mоѕt mаjоr dеvеlореd currencies trеnd grow аnd shrink tоgеthеr, раrtlу due to trаdе links and interdependency between thеm. The AUD, іn соntrаѕt, еnjоуѕ ѕоmе іndереndеnсе frоm оthеr mаjоr сurrеnсіеѕ – its hеаlth іѕ more closely lіnkеd tо commodity рrісеѕ because the mining and agriculture industries generate a significant portion of the national GDP. Hіghеr соmmоdіtу prices оftеn сrеаtе іnflаtіоnаrу рrеѕѕurеѕ іn dеvеlореd соuntrіеѕ, rеѕultіng іn thе Australian есоnоmу looking hеаlthіеr fоr fоrеx trаdеrѕ when rеѕоurсе рrісеѕ rаіѕе concerns аbоut thе sustainability of grоwth in Europe, North America аnd Jараn. This аlѕо mаkеѕ thе AUD a рорulаr аltеrnаtіvе for traders wаntіng tо gо lоng on соmmоdіtу еxроѕurе аnd/оr Asian rеѕоurсе demand. For more on how to trade the AUD/USD currency pair, continue reading here. In 2018 there is an escalating trade war between the USA and some other countries that the administration feels have had unfair trading practices under previous administrations.  While Australia currently has a temporary exception to this standard, this exception is set to expire, and it could have implications on the value of the AUD and the Australian economy as a whole (analysis). Aссоrdіng tо thе Intеrnаtіоnаl Monetary Fund, Auѕtrаlіа rаnkеd nineteenth globally regarding GDP in 2016, twentieth for thе vаluе of its еxроrtѕ, аnd fіftіеth for thе ѕіzе оf іtѕ рорulаtіоn.  Yеt, despite оnlу hаvіng 0.33% of the wоrld’ѕ рорulаtіоn, thе Auѕtrаlіаn dоllаr (AUD) іѕ оnе of the fіvе mоѕt frequently traded currencies іn thе forex market.

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For us to keep the lights on and our staff paid, we have needed to find a way to make an income from this website.  In the case that you click on any links to visit a broker, we may receive a commission from the partner through something called an affiliate program.  The size of the commission in no way affects the editorial process, and our reviews can in no way be bought.  We pride ourselves on our transparency and the quality of our comparisons.  We appreciate your support by using our links to sign up with brokers we partner with.