Forex Glossary – Traderia

BASE CURRENCY

The base currency is the first currency in a currency pair, and the currency that remains constant when determining a currency pair's price. The United States Dollar (USD) and the European Union Euro(EUR) are the dominant base currencies in terms of daily traded volume in the foreign exchange market. The British Pound (GBP), also called sterling, is the third ranking base currency. The USD based pairs are USD/JPY, USD/CHF and USD/CAD; the Euro based pairs are EUR/USD, EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP, and EUR/CHF. The GBP is the base for GBP/USD and GBP/JPY. The Australian Dollar (AUD) is its own base against the USD (AUD/USD).

ENTRY STOP ORDERS

An order initiating an open position to sell as the market falls, or buy as the market rises. The client believes that prices will continue to move in the same direction as the previous momentum after hitting the order level.

Buy Entry Stop: An order to buy at a price Above the current market.
Sell Entry Stop: An order to sell at a price Below the current market.
Equities Ownership interest in a corporation in the form of common stock or preferred stock.
Equity Total assets minus total liabilities; also called net worth.
Equity Curve The value of a trading account graphed over a period of time.
Euribor Euribor® (Euro Interbank Offered Rate) is the rate at which euro interbank term deposits within the euro zone are offered by one prime bank to another prime bank.

G-20

A group composed of the finance ministers and central bankers of the following 20 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. The IMF and the World Bank also participate. The G-20 was set up to respond to the financial turmoil of 1997-99 through the development of policies that "promote international financial stability".

Japanese Candlesticks

A charting method that has gained a lot of popularity recently, because the charts are more visually appealing than bar charts that reflect the same information. They are also generally easier to read and interpret. The chart makes it easier to see the relationship between the open and close and the high and low of price movements. They also give a more accurate depiction of market sentiment. There are two types of Candlestick; the first Candle has a white or hollow body which indicates that the market is moving upwards, as there is more buying than selling interest. As the Close price is higher than the Open price, the white candlestick depicts the positive sentiment in the market and the fact that bulls are in control. The longer the body is, the stronger the buying interest. A filled (black) body which indicates that the market is moving downwards indicates that there is more selling than buying interest. As the Close price is lower than the Open price, the black candlestick depicts the negative sentiment in the market and the fact that bears are in control. The longer the body is, the stronger the selling interest. The lines above and below the body of the candlestick are called “Shadows” or “Wicks”. The upper shadow reveals the price levels above the body that have been tested but eventually rejected. Similarly, the lower shadow reveals the price levels below the body that have been tested but eventually rejected.

OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC’s mission is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry. The twelve-member states are: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

Parabolic SAR

Parabolic Stop and Reverse is a technical indicator developed by Welles Wilder. It is based on the premise that a strong trend will continue to increase in strength and hence it will follow a parabolic arc. During an uptrend a SAR point starts far from the price and as the price accelerates upwards the SAR points (below the price in an uptrend and above the price during a downtrend) close the gap. When the SAR point reaches the price the long position is closed and a short is opened. It is a system that is always in the market either as long or short. The points (SAR) serve as trailing stop loss and trailing take profit. It works well during trending markets but it produces many false signals during sideways markets.

Pending Orders

Orders to buy or sell a financial instrument in the future when certain conditions are met. They consist of limit orders and stop orders. Buy Limit Order: A predefined price to buy in the future. This is lower than the current market price. Sell Limit Order: A predefined price to sell in the future. This is higher than the current market price. Buy Stop Order: A predefined price to buy in the future. This is higher than the current market price. Sell Stop Order: A predefined price to sell in the future. The price is lower than the current market price.

Williams’ Percent Range (%R)

A technical indicator developed by Larry Williams. It is used to identify extreme price movements i.e. overbought and oversold levels. It uses an upside-down scale. Readings from 0 to -20 imply overbought levels whereas readings between 80 and 100 imply oversold levels. The %R indicator often anticipates reversals as it forms a top and turns down before the underlying financial instrument does and similarly, it forms a bottom and turns up before the price does. To calculate %R, take the difference between the Highest High of the last n periods and the current closing price - this is the dividend. Furthermore, take the difference between the Highest High of the last n periods and the Lowest Low of the last n periods - this is the divisor. Finally multiply the quotient by -100.