Glossary of Trading Terms
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Look up the meaning of hundreds of trading terms in our comprehensive glossary.
A negative balance of trade or payments.
A negative balanBalance of trade
The balance of trade sometimes referred to as the trade balance, is the difference between the value of a country’s exports and the value of a country’s imports over a set period.
Countries that import more goods and services than they export (in terms of value) have trade deficits, and countries that export more goods and services than imports have trade surpluses.ce of trade or payments.
The GBP/USD (Great British Pound/U.S. Dollar) pair. Cable earned its nickname because the rate was originally transmitted to the US via a transatlantic cable beginning in the mid 1800s when the GBP was the currency of international trade.
A day order is a limit or stop order given to a broker to execute a trade at a specific price before the markets close that day. If the price is not reached before the markets close, the order is canceled.
A day order is the most common of the several types of limit orders. Other limit orders include good ‘til canceled (GtC) and fill or kill (FoK) orders.
ECB stands for the European Central Bank, which is the central bank for the euro and Euro Area. The headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany.
It administers monetary policy within the Eurozone, which comprises 19 member states of the European Union, one of the world’s largest trading blocs.
Factory orders are a common economic indicator, used to assess the dollar value of goods from factories. The data for factory orders are released in monthly reports by the US Census Bureau and are split into two major groupings: durable and non-durable goods. Each factory orders report includes new orders, unfilled order, shipments, and inventories.
The gearing ratio is a financial ratio comparing a business owner’s equity (or capital) to the company’s overall debt and borrowed funds. It’s a measurement of financial leverage, illustrating how much of a firm’s operations get funded by equity capital instead of debt financing.
Every 100 pips in the FX market starting with 000.
IBOR stands for Interbank Offered Rate – a type of interest rate benchmark that represents an average of the rates that banks will offer each other for loans of various maturities.
The most well-known and widely used IBOR is LIBOR. However, you might also encounter EURIBOR, TIBOR and other rates.
IBORs have been used in financial markets for a long time and feature in a huge variety of different products and transactions. Over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives in particular have long been associated with IBORs.
Measures the mood of businesses that directly service consumers such as waiters, drivers and beauticians. Readings above 50 generally signal improvements in sentiment.
To limit your trades due to inclement trading conditions. In either choppy or extremely narrow markets, it may be better to stay on the side lines until a clear opportunity arises.
The last day you may trade a particular product.
A macro trader is an individual who tries to profit by analyzing economic data such as GDP growth, inflation, and unemployment. They base their decisions on the overall economic and political views of various countries and the macroeconomic principles.
Forex trading is an example of macro trading, where traders try to capitalize by finding a relationship between currency price and the data.
Net position can either refer to the total value of all open positions, or the balance of long positions and short positions. In trading, this can mean the difference in value of all open trades in profit and all open trades running a loss, resulting in a net positive or net negative position. However, it can also refer to if a trader is net long or net short.
The offer price is the price at which you as a trader can buy an underlying asset trading in the market. The offer price is also referred to as the ‘ask’ or the ‘asking’ price.
Refers to the offer side of the market dealing.
Quantitative easing (QE) is a dovish monetary strategy imposed by a central bank to increase the money supply in an economy by purchasing long-term securities on the open market. The central bank's objective is to stoke growth and investment when the interest rate is at or near zero.
QE is an alternative monetary policy used when the usual open market operations are not functioning as they should be. There is sometimes a danger that it will cause inflation and fall short of its impact on growth.
A rally is a series of price increases in shares, indices, or bonds over a short period on the stock market. A considerable boost in demand from a rise in investment generally stokes a rally, and they often follow a period of flat or downward growth.
A rally that occurs during a prolonged period of price declines is called a bear market rally, and this can sometimes be mistaken for an end to the bear market period. However, it is considered a bear market rally only when prices stay underneath the level of the bearish decline.
A rally that occurs in a period of rising prices is called a bull market rally, which is less common than a bear market rally.
SEC stands for the Security and Exchange Commission, a US government oversight agency that regulates markets and protect investors.
Established in 1934, the SEC consist of a five-person commission with each member serving a five-year term. Together the commission ensures public companies publish regular earnings reports, investors declare when purchasing over 5% of a company, and those who break securities laws are prosecuted.
A take profit is an order type that automatically closes the trade when the price reaches a prespecified point. By closing the trade when the price has risen to a specific point, take profits prevent your trade from losing the gains it’s made if the market turns.
Describing unforgiving market conditions that can be violent and quick.
The value date is the date on which counterparts to a financial transaction agree to settle their respective obligations. At the value date, the value of an account, transaction, or asset goes into effect. The value date is more commonly called the maturity date.
In trading the value date denotes when the transaction is completely settled, i.e. the payment is finalized and the asset’s ownership is transferred. When spot trading forex, the value date is often set two days after the trade is closed and the transaction finalized.
A wedge chart pattern is a chart formation resembling a wedge formed by a narrowing price range over time, either ascending or descending. In a wedge pattern two trend lines are moving in the same direction but narrowing in width. Eventually a breakthrough occurs to end the pattern.
An ascending wedge features price highs which decrease incrementally while price lows increase incrementally. Ascending wedges typically conclude with a downside breakout, making them a bearish indicator
A descending wedge features price declines which become incrementally smaller, concluding with an upside breakout, making the descending wedge pattern a bullish indicator
XAG/USD is how silver is labeled for spot trading on the foreign exchange market. Silver (XAG) is traded against the US dollar (USD), so its price shows how much one ounce of silver is worth in USD. XAG/USD is traded like any traditional currency pair.
In addition to gold, silver is a precious metal and is used in the creation of jewelry and silverware. It also has significant industrial use in solar panels, batteries, medical and photography equipment, and motor vehicles.
A billion units.