Timescale for a Trade

This is a total newbie question, I havent traded forex before and am just now looking into it. I would like to ask you guys that are already doing it, how long does it take to complete a trade online to where the funds are available to make another trade ? For instance if I decide to buy x amount of Euros how long from when I initiate that trade would the Euros I purchased be available for me to sell ?

That depends on the broker. IBFX requires at least 30s for a trade to last but Oanda says as long as the trade has been accepted by the system it’s considered valid so basically no time limit. If that’s what you mean…

I think you might be thinking that you are actually moving the money around, like settling a futures contract. All the contracts in the FX (spot) market are cash settled, so the only thing limiting the execution your order is the processing capabilities of your broker.

yes i did assume it was something like that, so are you saying the transaction is complete within minutes ?so for instance if i bought euros right now i could theoreticaly sell them a couple of minutes later if i wish ?

I have micro accounts with both IBFX & FXCM. As soon as I click out of the trade my account shows that the money is there to place another trade. As far as I can tell it’s instantaneous. Big money account may be different.

@ PTB

No offense, but you do realize you are exactly a year + some days late in answering this post, don’t you?

:stuck_out_tongue:

Cheers,
xXTrizzleXx

Usually immediately with my broker.