What is Base and Quote Currency?
In any forex pair the base is the first currency and the quote is the second. Here's what the price means and how to read it, with an example.
4 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is Bid and Ask?
Every pair has two prices: the bid you sell at and the ask you buy at. The gap between them is the spread, your first trading cost.
4 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is Equity vs Balance?
Balance counts only closed trades; equity includes open ones. Here's why equity is the honest figure, a worked example, and how it ties to drawdown.
4 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is Free Margin?
Free margin is equity minus used margin — what's left to open trades and absorb losses. Here's what it lets you do, with a worked £ example.
4 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is Margin Level?
Margin level is equity divided by used margin, as a percent. Here's how it falls, how it triggers a margin call and stop-out, with a worked example.
5 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is Margin?
Margin is the deposit your broker locks to hold a leveraged position. Here's the formula, how it differs from leverage, and a worked £ example.
4 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is Pip Value?
Pip value is what one pip is worth in money for your lot size and pair. Here's the formula, a worked £ example, and how it drives position sizing.
5 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is a Currency Pair?
A currency pair prices one currency against another. Here's how majors, minors and exotics differ, and how to read a quote like GBP/USD.
5 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is a Take-Profit?
A take-profit is a preset order that closes a trade once it reaches a target in profit. Here's how it pairs with a stop-loss and sets risk-reward.
5 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is a Timeframe?
A chart timeframe sets how much time each candle covers, from M1 to MN. Here's how it shapes a strategy and why traders read several at once.
5 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is a bull market and a bear market?
A bull market is one where prices are generally rising over a sustained period. A bear market is one where prices are generally falling. The terms come…
2 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is a lot size?
A lot is the standardised unit of measurement for the amount of currency you're buying or selling in a forex trade. When you place a trade, you're not j…
2 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is a margin call?
A margin call is a notification from your broker that your account has fallen below the minimum margin required to keep your open positions running. It…
2 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is a pip?
A pip is the smallest standard unit of price movement in forex trading. When EUR/USD moves from 1.10000 to 1.10010, it has moved one pip. The word stand…
3 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is a spread?
The spread is the difference between the price you pay to buy a currency pair (the ask) and the price you receive when you sell it (the bid). It's the p…
2 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is a stop loss?
A stop loss is an instruction to automatically close a trade if the price moves against you by a specified amount. It is your safety net — the maximum l…
2 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is financial trading?
Trading is the act of buying and selling financial assets with the aim of making a profit. You buy something, wait for its value to change, then sell it…
3 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is leverage?
Leverage lets you control a position larger than the money you actually have in your account. A broker offers you leverage so that a £1,000 deposit can…
3 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is liquidity?
Liquidity refers to how easily an asset can be bought or sold without affecting its price. A highly liquid market has many buyers and sellers at any giv…
2 minRead → The Basics of TradingWhat is the foreign exchange market (forex)?
Forex — short for foreign exchange — is the global market where currencies are bought and sold against each other. It is the largest and most liquid fin…
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