Forex Trading | Investor's Almanac

The market is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. Participants in the forex market include larger international banks, financial institutions, and individual traders. Banks turn to a smaller number of financial firms known as 'dealers' who are involved in large quantities of transactions. The rise of online trading platforms and automated trading bots has made forex trading more accessible to individual traders. The forex market is characterized by high liquidity, with large volumes of trades executed every day. The market is also highly volatile, with exchange rates fluctuating rapidly in response to economic news, political events, and market sentiment.