Excuse my ignorance. I am yet to try forex & have been doing School of Pipsology for only 2 days.
I am trying to research if you can use an online forex account to simply trade currency 1 way per trade.
eg: I deposit AUD10,000 in an account. I set a trade (AUD/USD=1.05) & pay a fee (say AUD15). Then when I choose, I set a trade (USD/AUD=0.96) & pay the AUD15 fee again. I calculate ~AUD50 profit depending when the 2xAUD15 fees are processed.
I ask because I interpret the info in pip school refering to fee free trades with spreads. I know my example is not using leverage but the trade types discussed don’t seem to allow you to sit on the new currency indefinitely (like having a multi currency bank account).
A FUTURES trade asks for a specific date for a set exchange rate & even a CARRY trade seems like a drawn out SPOT trade to me.
Is there a term for what I propose or does this require traditional (rather than online) brokerage?
I think if you open something like a “Pro” account they may have commission prices per trade with lower spreads, I think my broker asks a minimum $5000 deposit for an account with half the spread, but $3.50 commision per trade.
I could be wrong here, but i thought if you have a trade open over night, they charge interest on your leverage or something, dunno maybe someone more knowledgable will answer soon.
Tbh i am not really sure what you are asking but as Huckau as said you do get charged a fee for keeping a trade open overnight. This is called the interest rate differential. It will come up in the Babypips School in a later chapter.
I have read all the Pips School info & am still none the wiser. I am happy to pay a % or a fee (or both) per trade.
My query is about the term (name) for a trade changing 1 currency to another & thats it. This infers the trade is not open overnight, it is finished in 1 step, it does not need a safety clause or stop point etc. Think of my query as: My online forex account being like a bank account with the full balance traded (no leveraging). It starts in AUD, I make a trade to USD & sit for a week. I make a trade to GBP & sit for 20 days. I make a trade back to AUD & hopefully after fees & exchange rates, it outperforms bank interest. Is this too simple, am I missing something? Or is this not available online, only with face to face brokerage? Thanks for responses thus far!
I’ve done more digging & think what I am describing is an OPEN ORDER? I don’t remember reading this term in Pips School? Can you trade on demo accounts using Open Orders? Any feed back on how this relates to my queries above re: using the full account balance to trade (no leveraging), how the fees would work & any pros / cons? Go easy on the abuse if it’s a stupid concept as I’m new to this game!
if I understand you completely, you want to sell aud/usd at say 1.05 and buy back at audusd’s rate of 0.96 for a profit.
yes you can do that.
actually, you can sit on the trade indefinitely if you want. that is you will be leaving your trade or position OPEN for an indefinite amount of time until such time you want to close it or exit at a substantial profit.
if you would share a link to that particular ‘info in pip school’, we can get this clarified further, assuming I am familiar with what you are asking about 
There is no link - i don’t recall reading about OPEN ORDERS in pip school (see my last reply 08-15-2012).
To my understanding, an OPEN ORDER is a one way transfer & does not require a return to the original currency as part of the trade. Your response (FringFX) is still alluding to leaving the trade OPEN which the whole line of my thread is asking how to trade forex online without using this technique.
I am saying I want to set 1x OPEN ORDER to trade AUD to USD & it is finished. Then when it suits I set a separate 1x OPEN ORDER to trade USD to AUD. I do not want to set a trade at the start that incorporates both legs meaning the trade is in an open position.
CAN YOU TRADE FOREX ONLINE USING OPEN ORDERS? IF SO, DO DEMO ACCOUNTS OFFER THIS TRADE OPTION TOO? OR CAN THIS ONLY BE DONE USING TRADITIONAL OR FACE TO FACE BROKERAGE?
FringFX, if these queries can not be answered, at least tell me what is the name for the trade you have described above & what are the steps in executing it?
Sorry for the length of my posts but I am reasking the same question each time!!!
You’re talking about a currency conversion or physical currency exchange. Not many retail brokers allow a physical currency conversion where you turn your AUD into USD without trading cross rates. One such broker is Interactive Brokers. However, it costs more to make the conversion than it does to place a trade (multiple commissions for larger positions) and worse spreads. But not bad if you’re planning on parking funds in a currency without racking up recurring rollover costs.
Thanks FXEZ. Just checked the Interactive Brokers website & a Currency Conversion costs $2.50 + 1 basis point x Trade Value. Does this mean a $10,000 currency conversion costs $10,000 x 0.0001 + $2.50 ie: $3.50?
There are additional monthly fees I need to check 1st though which could make it a costly exercise on a small scale.