Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Forex Pip Defined

By Bart Icles

In Forex trading, a Pip or Percentage In Point or Price Interest Point, is the smallest change in price of a given exchange rate. New traders to the market should have a thorough understanding of the concept as they will encounter this term all the time when doing currency trading.

Currency pairs are quoted accurately to the fourth decimal place because Forex transactions are mostly involves large sums, and Forex spreads are the exact opposite. This defines the smallest movement of a paired currency and is called a Pip. An example would be: if the USD/EUR moves from 1.2345 to 1.2346, then the Pip would be 1. If it changes from 1.2345 to 1.2305, the change in Pip would be 40 Pips. On the currency market, there are the 6 widely-traded called the majors that is made up of the following:

* EUR/USD, also called the 'EURO" * GBP/USD, also called the "CABLE" * USD/CHF, also called the "SWISSIE" * USD/JPY, also called the "NINJA" * USD/CAD, also called the "LOONIE", or "BEAVER" * AUD/USD, also called the "AUSSIE" *

Of the 6 majors, the EUR/USD is the most widely traded currency paired, with an average of 100 Pips per day.

Also, profits and losses are measured in Pips, with the exception of the USD/JPY, since it is quoted at the second decimal place due to having a cent or of a hundredth in some major currencies. The yen's Pip value is .01, while other majors are placed at .0001.

If the currency pair of USD/JPY moves from 110.95 to 111.00, it has gained 5 Pips. If the USD/CAD goes from 1.0234 to 1.0224, it lost 10 Pips. So if the USD/JPY went from 77.48 to 77.53, the increase would be 5 Pips. If you trade with the majors' like the AUD/USD and the exchange rate is at 1.9876, then 1 Pip for this trade is .0001, since it is set four decimal places.

When a trader says "30 Pips", it means thirty units of value in a trade. You might want to check carefully the individual currencies that you plan trading on to know what their respective Pips are, as these do vary. It may be confusing at the start, and the figures might seem a little formidable at first, but once you delve into Forex currency trading regularly, it'll soon grow on you.

The important thing to remember is that most currencies are placed at the fourth decimal place, such as those paired with the USD, or .0001, except the Yen. If you always keep in mind what a Forex Pip is, as also that each respective currency pair has a different value to it, you'll do well in your everyday trading. - 22871

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