What is buying and selling in forex?
Buying and selling in forex is speculating on the upward and downward price movements of a currency pair, with the hopes of making a profit. All forex trading involves buying one currency and selling another, which is why it is quoted in pairs. You would buy the pair if you expected the base currency to strengthen against the quote currency, and you would sell if you expected it to do the opposite.
The price of a forex pair is how much one unit of the base currency is worth in the quote currency. For example, if the price of GBP/USD is 1.32000, it means that £1 costs $1.32.
Can I sell forex without buying?
Yes, you can sell forex without buying – this is known as short-selling, or going short. Short-selling a currency means that you believe that its price will fall, so you ‘sell’. The more the price falls, the more profit you will make.
For example, assume GBP/USD is trading at 1.3200, with a buy price of 1.3201 and a sell price of 1.3199. You think that the currency price will fall, so you short-sell the pair at 1.3199. If USD strengthens against GBP – meaning fewer US dollars are needed to buy a single pound – of the price of GBP/USD will fall, and you’ll make a profit.