Day trading forex currency is a popular strategy for FX traders in the foreign currency market. Day trading simply means that most of your trades will be open and closed during the same day. In fact they are often much quicker than that, and one of the things that draws many people to day trading is the fast pace.
Forex day trading has some advantages over other longer term currency trading strategies. Although the fast and furious nature of slipping in and out of the market for quick trades can be stressful, at least when you stop for the day all of your trades are closed and you know where you are. You do not have to leave trades open, not knowing what will happen while you are sleeping and the foreign exchange markets are continuing to trade.
Generally speaking, this strategy takes advantage of mini trends and daily fluctuations in price. You would only be aiming to make a relatively small profit on each trade when compared with long term trading, but of course you will be involved in many more trades. On balance the two strategies can be equally profitable. One is for short term gain and the other is for long term growth.
However, there is a higher risk involved in day trading forex currency when you compare it with trading on longer term trends. The market will tend to be much more volatile and unpredictable. Volatility can be measured by the amount of variations in price measured against time. It is hard to say for sure, but many people estimate that around 80% of forex day traders are actually losing money. You would not want to join them, so do be sure that you can handle the pace and know what you are doing with a good trading plan before you start. Essentially you need to be experienced in trading the forex markets longer term before you try out day trading.
Day trading forex currency can certainly work. There are many traders out there making a lot of money from it. However, it is important to understand that it does not suit everyone. If you are liable to crack and make bad decisions under pressure, it may not be ideal for you. But the only way to know for sure is to try it.
In the beginning it is a good idea to use a very cautious strategy and practice with a currency trading demo account. This way you can discover a good system that works for you, without risking losing the shirt off your back. It is important still to understand that when you go live the pressures will be different and so your results may be different too.
Do not go straight from trading with virtual money in a demonstration account into trading a standard lot size. When you are consistently successful in demo, graduate to the minimum size of real account to get some practice day trading forex currency under real market conditions, then scale up your trades gradually.