General Statistics
The Forex Market is a decentralized OTC (Over-the-Counter) financial market. Forex is running 24 hours per day using the electronic network of banks (ECN). It is estimated that the Forex turnover today may exceed 4 trillion dollars per day. Forex volumes are generated mainly from speculators. It is estimated that 90% of the Forex trading volumes are generated by speculators (day-traders).
Forex Market Structure
The global free-floating Forex currency system started in 1971 as the Bretton Woods agreement ended. The online Forex trading market started in the late 1990’s. Forex is an open 24-hours market {Sunday 5pm (EST) – Friday 4pm (EST)}. Forex Trading starts in the Asia-Pacific and continues in the Middle East, in Europe, and in the US.
The Most Traded Currencies
The US Dollar is traditionally the most traded Forex currency in the world (85% of all Forex transactions). The Euro is the second most traded Forex currency (39% of all transactions and the Japanese Yen is the third most traded Forex currency (19% of all Forex Transactions). Each Forex transaction involves 2 pairs so the grand total of all transactions equals 200% and not 100% as in every other financial market.