Discuss Fxcm.com

[Jason Rogers]

I will be out of the office from now until Tuesday, May 24th and will respond to your posts and private messages when I return.

 

[Jason Rogers]

Watch Retail Sentiment on British Pound into Brexit Vote


Quantitative strategist David Rodriguez had the following to say about the British Pound in his Weekly Speculative Sentiment Index (SSI) report on DailyFX.com:

"Retail FX traders have bought aggressively into the British Pound’s recent slide versus the US Dollar, and a contrarian view of ‘crowd’ positioning acts as signal the GBP/USD may continue lower. Our data shows traders remained net-long GBP/USD as it fell from $1.53 to lows near $1.38, but more recently we have seen periods in which traders turned net-short.

"If we nonetheless see a continued shift towards buying—much as we have this week—our sentiment indicator will keep us firmly in favor of selling the GBP/USD. It will be critical to watch Sterling price action headed into the highly-anticipated UK ‘Brexit’ vote, and we expect the GBP may remain volatile in the weeks ahead."


The DailyFX research team can help you to navigate the ongoing Brexit volatility in a unique series of webinars ending with a rally in the final week.

What would a Brexit mean for the UK economy, assessing both the short and long term impacts? How will the decision affect traders across multiple markets? How will the Pound react? To hear their insights and analyses on the impact of this vote, you can sign up for the free webinar series.

 

[Jason Rogers]

Beta Test FXCM's New Web-based Platform!


Hi Everyone,

We're currently developing a new trading platform, and I invite you to join our beta testing group.

While this new platform offers charting and trading functionality on par with Trading Station Desktop, it's web-based. That means it requires no downloading and works on all computers including Macs to offer you convenience and greater accessibility with many bells and whistles. For example, we're integrating unique features into the platform like our economic calendar, videos, and news feeds with more to come!

WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK! Tell us what you want in the platform as part of your everyday trading experience. Gathering valuable feedback on your initial reaction and level of satisfaction for the platform will help us identify areas that need improvement.

​

Beta testing the platform is easy.

1. Log in using your existing account credentials at https://www-beta.fxcorporate.com/
2. Use the platform as you normally would. NOTE: Beta testing is only available on demo accounts.
3. Make the platform "your own". Move things around, use any features you want, etc.
4. Provide your feedback, suggestions, bugs or errors via email to beta@fxcm.com

We're very excited about this platform and look forward to your feedback and comments.

In appreciation for your time, we'll give you $300 free credit to spend in the FXCM App Store. Once we receive your feedback, we'll send you a promotional code to use at FXCMapps.com. It's that simple.

Please let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[Jason Rogers]

FXCM Updates Margin Requirements Post British Referendum

Hi Everyone,

We have begun to reduce margin requirements on select instruments back to pre-British referendum levels and will continue to do so gradually based on market conditions.

For the most up-to-date margin requirements that apply to your account, please look at the minimum margin requirement (MMR) column of the Simple Dealing Rates window on your Trading Station. If you use Mirror Trader, MT4 or NinjaTrader, your account login details will give you access to all three versions of Trading Station (desktop, web and mobile) to check your MMR.

Your exact MMR will depend on your trading entity (FXCM US, UK or Australia), account denomination (USD, GBP, AUD, etc.) and whether you have a Mini or Standard account. The screenshot above is from my Standard US dollar-denominated FXCM US account. My MMR for GBP/USD is 96.00, which means I have to set aside $96 as used margin (Usd Mr) for each micro lot (1K) position I have open.

Carefully consider how margin changes may impact your open positions and resting orders.

Please Note: In case market conditions become very volatile, we could raise margin requirements further. Please monitor your usable margin (Usbl Mr) closely, making sure it stays above zero. We recommend a usable margin that's at least 80% of your account equity (usable margin plus used margin).

Remember that forex trading can result in losses that could exceed your deposited funds and therefore may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.

 

[Jason Rogers]

Please note there is a holiday in the US on Monday, July 4th for Independence Day.

• You can see our holiday trading hours for CFD's here: Holiday Trading Hours | CFDtrading.com
• Forex trading hours remain unchanged, and you can view the holiday rollover interest schedule here: Forex Rollover Calendar | DailyFX.com

I will be out of the office until Tuesday, July 5th and will respond to your forum posts and private messages when I return.

Have a great weekend!

 

[Jason Rogers]

BoJ Rate Decision - High Volatility Risk


We have the Bank of Japan rate decision coming up this evening and anticipated Yen volatility measures are running extremely high. In fact, the overnight implied volatility on USD/JPY is at levels not seen since the Great Financial Crisis. Below is a chart to give some comparison to the anticipation that was building up in the GBP/USD overnight implied volatility reading heading into Brexit.

John Kicklighter explains why this event is so important in his article on DailyFX.com

 

[Jason Rogers]

New Indicator of Trader Sentiment


FXCM has created a new Speculative Sentiment Index indicator for Trading Station. It graphs the data in real time, so you can see both current and historical trading sentiment on your charts.

One of my favorite features of the new SSI indicator is that you can view sentiment data either as an index value or a percentage. For example, you see below the Speculative Sentiment Index value for USD/JPY is 3.23 which means there are 3.23 long positions for every short position. That equates to 76.38% of traders being long.

SSI is a contrarian signal to price action, so the fact that more traders are buying USD/JPY is a bearish signal for the pair. Notice in the chart above how the price action in USD/JPY tends to move in the opposite direction to the SSI percentage. When traders increase their buying, the price tends to fall and vice versa. This makes trader sentiment an interesting complement to the signals you can get from technical analysis and fundamental analysis.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

 

[Jason Rogers]

I will be out of the office until Tuesday, August 9th and will respond to your posts and private messages when I return.

For immediate assistance, you can contact our 24-hour live customer support.

 

[Jason Rogers]

Recently I've gotten many questions about this news: SEC bans Broker-Dealers from retail forex transactions

I thought it would be good to add some clarification here for traders in the US:

On May 20th of this year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that as of 7/31, regulated Broker-Dealers will be prohibited from offering retail forex trading. The prohibition also applies to Broker-Dealers who are dually registered as a Futures Commission Merchant or a Forex Dealer Member, such as Wedbush Securities, Interactive Brokers and Phillip Capital. Phillip Capital decided fairly quickly to halt its retail forex operation altogether in the US. Based on recent statements, it appears Interactive Brokers has been similarly affected. FXCM on the other hand is not a registered Broker-Dealers and is not impacted by the prohibition in anyway.

FXCM will continue to offer FX services to US customers.

In fact, latest financial data from the CFTC show traders have more money on deposit with FXCM than any other US-regulated forex broker.

If you currently have an account with a broker that can no longer offer forex trading in the US, I encourage you to consider us particularly for the No Dealing Desk (NDD) execution and low spreads we provide to all Standard and Active Trader accounts.

High volume traders might be especially interested in a trial of our new Market Depth indicator. (free to all Standard and Active Trader account holders)

 

[Jason Rogers]

NEW Trading Station Desktop update


Attention Trading Station Desktop users: A new update is available for your platform.

This update is not yet automatic when you log into your account, but clients who want to use the latest features now can get the new version today. Simply go to "Help > Software Updates" from the menu bar at the top of your Trading Station and follow the steps to complete the installation.

One of my favorite new features is the Simulation Mode. This allows you to replay market data at real or accelerated speed (for example, 10 times real speed).

The best part is that Simulation Mode is available 24/7 even during weekend maintenance. This is great for traders who like to do their charting, practicing and strategizing over the weekend when trading is closed. Test how well you would have traded key market moves from the past!

In future posts, I willl provide you with more information on other new features available in the latest version of Trading Station Desktop.

Our service includes products that are traded on margin and carry a risk of losses in excess of your deposited funds. The products may not be suitable for all investors. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.