FXCM Discussion

Discussion in 'Forex Brokers' started by Jason Rogers, May 5, 2011.

  1. Jason Rogers

    Jason Rogers ET Sponsor

    I have created this thread as a central location where you can discuss FXCM. I will do my best to answer any questions about FXCM. What I cannot do is publicly discuss the details of any clients trading activity, so please private message with regards to any questions about your personal trading account. From time to time, I will also use this thread to update you on announcements from FXCM such as changes to trading hours, new currency pairs, etc....

    Kind Regards,

    Jason Rogers
    FXCM
     
  2. Jason Rogers

    Jason Rogers ET Sponsor

    We're happy to announce that FXCM has partnered with Dow Jones Indexes to release the Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index (USDOLLAR)!

    The Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index Basket allows you to take advantage of the US Dollar appreciation and depreciation. Do you believe the US dollar is likely to appreciate? You can buy the DJ FXCM Dollar Index Basket and benefit if it gains against four currencies.
    Think it will head lower? Selling is just as easy.

    The Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index is composed of 4 currencies in equal weightings.

    [​IMG]

    The Dow Jones FXCM US Dollar Index avoids outdated currency pair selection and confusing methodology to produce a more straightforward design. The index basket is designed to be as easy to understand as it is to trade. At inception date, the index reflects an equivalent $10,000 long position against the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, and Australian dollar. The value of the index is subsequently the average value of those US Dollar positions. If the US Dollar rallies 100 pips against the euro, Australian dollar, Japanese yen, and British pound, the index will appreciate by approximately 100 points.

    Trading the Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index Basket

    The USDOLLAR symbol was added to FXCM US (LLC) demo accounts yesterday. If you don't see it in the dealing rates window, you can add it by clicking on the Symbols button at the top of the platform. The symbol will be added to all other demo account likely by this weekend.

    I've been told that the charts may also possibly be backfilled by this weekend. In terms of live trading on the index, it will be added to live accounts eventually....as soon as within a couple of months but still not certain. The index can be found on most financial websites by searching for the ticker symbol USDOLLAR, i.e. Yahoo Finance.

    Here is what it will look like once added to the dealing rates window:

    [​IMG]

    The screenshot of the USDOLLAR basket is from yesterday when the index value was at $9,440. This is the USD value of the 4 currency pairs in the basket. Since the initial starting value of the index was $10,000 you can see that the US Dollar has lost value since the index was initially launched. The current USDOLLAR value is around $9,538 (as of a few minutes of the post) so you can tell that the USDOLLAR has gained in value since yesterday. The new index allows you to easily speculate on the direction of the dollar versus a basket of pairs. Let me know if you have any questions.

    -Jason
     
  3. I have a question. Why do you think the DXY construction method is outdated?
     
  4. Jason Rogers

    Jason Rogers ET Sponsor

    The current dollar index you are most familiar (DX-Y.NYB) is very euro-centric. It was created back in the 1970's, and the index is tilted towards euro area countries by almost 64% if you count the percentage make-up of the EUR, CHF, and SEK. The Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index seeks to balance this out by representing the top traded currency pairs against the dollar (EUR, JPY, GBP, & AUD), and including the Australian Dollar to represent commodities and Asia Pacific growth. It is also easier understand the weighting an calculate the value of the index since the index represents the equivalent of $10,000 long position against the EUR, JPY, GBP, and AUD. Each currency makes up 25% of the Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index basket.
     
  5. gtor514

    gtor514

    Thanks for this thread.

    I would like to make a suggestion/request to FXCM.

    I understand that CFD trading of Gold and Silver is unavailable to U.S. residents due to federal regulations. However, is it possible for FXCM to provide the data feed and price history for these metals to US traders? I find the ability to chart the metals and identify support and demand areas are excellent tools to trade the commodity bloc currencies.

    Having mastered LUA programming, I am using Marketscope charting and it would nice to see the metals charted there. If Price/Price History was provided via the API that would be useful as well.

    Oil too if it's no problem. :)
     
  6. ronblack

    ronblack

    Why do you think incuding GBP equally-weighted makes sense? Great Britain is a country with a huge debt and financial problems. On the contrary, the major force behind EUR, Germany, has a surplus and Australia has also a surplus.

    Did you make a study to see how this index correlated historically to actual USD movements?
     
  7. Jason Rogers

    Jason Rogers ET Sponsor

    Hi gtor,

    Thanks for the suggestion, and I will make sure to give this feedback to our management team. I also checked on accessibility of oil and metals data via our API, and I was told you can access it with the Orders2Go API. Here's the link where you can find it http://forexforums.dailyfx.com/order2go-com-trading-api/ . It would be best to post any specific questions about the API directly to our programming help forum section .

    -Jason
     
  8. Jason Rogers

    Jason Rogers ET Sponsor

    The GBP/USD remains one of the top 4 currency pairs in terms of foreign exchange volume and is therefore very relevant to the value of the dollar. The pound also retains significance as the UK remains an important global financial hub. The weighting provides geographical diversification while ensuring the basket remains simple for traders to understand and very liquid to trade. More information on the methodology can be found on the Dow Jones Indexes website http://www.djindexes.com/usdollar/?go=literature .
     
  9. You outta be a business analyst to goldman sachs CEO. you are such a clever guy!
     
  10. Jason Rogers

    Jason Rogers ET Sponsor

    FXCM Currency Trading Expo in Las Vegas: September 9-11, 2011

    FXCM will be hosting another currency trading expo in Las Vegas at the Rio on September 9-11, 2011. The workshop schedule hasn't been released yet, but it should be available within the next month or so. The expo will take place on the weekend this year, so hopefully gives everyone a better opportunity to make it. Here's the registration page http://www.fxcmexpo.com/e-mail-signup/. We look forward to seeing you there, and let me know if you have any questions.

    -Jason

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    #10     Jul 25, 2011