Does anyone here trade forex. It seems to be pretty hard to make money if you have a spread of 4 or 5 pips. This spread seems to be the norm for the online forex trading sites. Does anyone know the pip spread that the banks get? Thanks NJ Trader
pip rates www.gaincapital.com has slightly delayed dealing quotes at their home page for example USD / EUR is 4 pips wide now ... at least they do not charge any commissions ... so that has to be factored into the P+L equation
in the online forex you don't pay commission you pay the spread. So a 4 Point sread in a currency where one Point represents for example $10 you pay $40 to get in and $40 to get out.
my hunch is that some of the online forex operations are bucket shops. Only a hunch. I agree with the above post. Why not futures?
can be thinner than the spot market and you have to take into account commissions that being said ... I have done both spot and futures USD / EUR ... but only dipped my toes into the waters of currency trading ... still concentrating my attention and accounts on equities and mini stock indices
stick with a liquid contract. Never had a problem with liquidity in the DM, SF, Yen...Doubt you'll have a problem with the EC. These contracts have been around for decades (excepting the ec). This java-retail-forex is new. But hey, it may be great. I said it's just a hunch.
the management of GAIN Capital at an investment Expo in NYC they seem to be honest chaps good website ... have not traded with them , but they would be my first choice if I were to start trading Spot FX again good luck