The foreign exchange market exists in order to facilitate the buying and selling of currencies

around the world. Most currencies are traded on the market however the most traded currencies
pairs are EUR/USD, GPB/USD, USD/YEN and USD/CHF. And now, I will provide you with a
broad overview on the market,firstly.

The foreign exchange market is not located in one place. It is an over-the-counter market which
means unlike the stock market, there is not a regulated place to trade currencies. The market is a
worldwide network of banks, corporations and individuals who use technology to trade through
telephones and computers. The market is open 24 hours a day except for weekends and covers
three time zones: Asia, Europe and America.
Lets move on to the quotations.
Although the market is global, the currency prices are so close that they are almost the same for
each currency in all geographic locations. Currencies are quoted in standard named pairs such as
EUR/USD (euro against the dollar). The first currency quoted is called the base currency, and the
second currency is the called the counter currency. A trader quoting "EUR/USD 1.2950-1.2955,"
is saying that he bids/buys 1 euro for every 1.2950 dollar he sells, and offers/sells 1 euro for
every 1.2955 dollars he buys.
Finnally,we cant surely overlook the size of the market.
The foreign exchange market is the biggest financial market in the world, and the daily volume is
close to $4 trillion a day. The ten largest banks in the world trade over 70 percent of the total
volume. The market is mainly short term, and 80 percent of the transactions are purely
speculative.