Rrrracer 

This is why I would like to find a decent forex broker in the US... haven't had much luck outside of Forex.com and Oanda, both of which are market makers as far as I know. Who are you using Bob? Have you had any trouble with the spread opening up and grabbing your trades?

also, Oanda has a decent platform.I use forex.com with NT8.If you are used to Sierra, i doubt you would like NT8

hey guys, thinking about dipping my toes in forex, I'm in Europe, who should I be considering? thinking about forextime or FXCM at present.

bobarian 

I switched to forex so i could trade live for low risk amounts.I couldnt afford to trade cl.For me , Forex enables me to trade with real $and stay in a trade plan without the anxiety of big$ getting flushed.As my plan shows consistency, i just raise the amount per trade.....Now, on to the spreads.You can have a time and sales up that will show the current spread.EURUSD has the tightest spread...about 1.2 and is plenty liquid.Going forward, as i progress, i will raise the amount i trade incrementally.Forex gives me the capability to do this, with low risk,while dialing in my method, and my mental approach...............However.......when i get to the point that i am comfortable with this as a whole, and there is a foundation in place, i want to get back to trading the open with YM,NQ, and dare i say it....CL...And by the way, you can get some nasty slippage on the minis too(not es!).One more thing....I have no problem with the charts on forex.They work and behave like anything else...Sure, GBPUSD can get bumrushed because of Brexit, but weve all sen CL get pushed around as well.I think its important to be aware of spreads in general, but there comes a point when its out of our control.So choose what instrument youre comfortable with, and accept the spread, and focus on the process Hope this helps, Bob

With spot forex the spread is only an issue if you are scalping or day trading forex.

If you are swing trading or holding positions for days / weeks then the spread is not really an issue as your stops should be wide enough to cope with slippage, news events etc.

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bobarian 

IMHO, risk control is the most important factor here.As an aspiring trader, my job is to stay alive, while dialing in a method and executing without hesitation.This requires zoning in on a few setups that i recognize, and always participating when these setups exist.Aslo, a big work in progress, is determing a realistic target for each setup, and being patient to let the trade play out.Forex gives me the chance to forget about the $, and focus on the process and me.

That is a big advantage of spot forex. You can trade live with a small account.

However some argue that micro currency futures offer the same opportunity as margins for them are under $300.

Thing is, do micro currency futures have the liquidity?

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kazz 

That is a big advantage of spot forex. You can trade live with a small account. However some argue that micro currency futures offer the same opportunity as margins for them are under $300. Thing is, do micro currency futures have the liquidity? Sent using the NexusFi mobile app

some of the micro currencies are liquid enough.I used to watch the british pound, and the euro is good.The spreads with fxcm are so much better.Also, you can trade oil and gold in Europe.

kazz 

With spot forex the spread is only an issue if you are scalping or day trading forex. If you are swing trading or holding positions for days / weeks then the spread is not really an issue as your stops should be wide enough to cope with slippage, news events etc. Sent using the NexusFi mobile app

What about the swap? To hold, you are either getting payed or you are paying, and this needs to be factored when swing trading.
And how is spread a problem for day traders? EURUSD offers less than a pip majority of the time and if a trader cant handle that then their are issues that need to be addressed. If youre trading an instrument that frequently suffers slippage and large spreads and the trader is unhappy with that, simply find a more suitable instrument. There is something for everyone.

Grantx 

What about the swap? To hold, you are either getting payed or you are paying, and this needs to be factored when swing trading. And how is spread a problem for day traders? EURUSD offers less than a pip majority of the time and if a trader cant handle that then their are issues that need to be addressed. If youre trading an instrument that frequently suffers slippage and large spreads and the trader is unhappy with that, simply find a more suitable instrument. There is something for everyone.

Not sure if swap is such a big deal with interest rates being so low everywhere.

Regarding spread, yes it's tiny for EURUSD but not everyone day trades that pair.

You can't deny that spread is an issue for scalping.

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bobarian 

some of the micro currencies are liquid enough.I used to watch the british pound, and the euro is good.The spreads with fxcm are so much better.Also, you can trade oil and gold in Europe.

Thanks, which micro currency futures have decent liquidity?

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kazz 

Thanks, which micro currency futures have decent liquidity? Sent using the NexusFi mobile app

m6e is the best.qm for oil is ok too.

kazz 

Not sure if swap is such a big deal with interest rates being so low everywhere. Regarding spread, yes it's tiny for EURUSD but not everyone day trades that pair. You can't deny that spread is an issue for scalping. Sent using the NexusFi mobile app

I agree with you on the swaps. Even though they might not look like much but lets consider an example. You hold an EU short for 7 days using a standard lot size. For whatever reason you decide to exit for 50 pips. You net $500, and according to the dukascopy rates your rollover will be approx $50.
Not significant but still represents 10% of your total gain on that trade. If you were holding a long you would be paying approx $60 and thats all before the cost of spread or commission is factored in.

Spread for a scalper is an issue no matter what market you trade. FX or futures. On EU I only need to overcome 0.75 of a pip before Im in profit... all in. Liquidity has never been a problem for me. I stand by what I say, if a trader cant handle a 1 or 2 pip spread then they need to reconsider what they are doing.
On futures I need to pay the commission but also need price to advance and clear the next price level before I could close for profit using a market order. And depending on the instrument, you could still be underwater because of the commission so yeah, people need to learn to hold trades and let them run for a bit.