Trading foreign exchange on the currency market also called trading forex is a great source of investment income. Until recently the forex market was a closed market and trading activities were confined to the banking sector, the multinationals and the hedge funds. However with new technological advancement small retail investors now have the opportunity to participate in this lucrative market as well with online forex trading.

Essentially online forex trading is the trading of one currency for another through the use of the internet. The forex market is actually the largest financial market in the world. This means that there is no centralized location like the New York Stock Exchange from which trading activities must take place. Because of this unique aspect of the forex market with online forex trading you can get into forex from any place in the world.

With a properly equipped computer and internet access a trader will be able to basically determine what to buy, when to buy and how much to buy with just a click of the mouse. In addition the speed with which your orders are executed is almost instantaneous as you will be using a trading platform that is provided by the forex brokerage companies that will also help their clients determine what to buy or sell.

Now that you know some important factors to be aware of when opening a forex account you should take a look at what exactly you can trade within that account. The two main ways to trade in the foreign currency market is the simple buying and selling of currency pairs where you go long one currency and short another.  The second way is through the purchasing of derivatives that track the movements of a specific currency pair. 

The most important part of forex trading is the use of online forex trading systems that will provide you with all the necessary tools and information. Using a trading system means you should stick to the rules and criteria that you put in place. There is no point in spending time and effort creating your system to then be caught up in the moment and forget everything that you have planned