The foreign exchange market (dubbed forex or FX) is the market for exchanging foreign currencies. Forex is the largest market in the world, and the trades that happen in it affect everything from the price of clothing imported from China to the amount you pay for a margarita while vacationing in Mexico.
At its simplest, forex trading is similar to the currency exchange you may do while traveling abroad: A trader buys one currency and sells another, and the exchange rate constantly fluctuates based on supply and demand.Currencies are traded in the foreign exchange market, a global marketplace that’s open 24 hours a day Monday through Friday. All forex trading is conducted over the counter (OTC), meaning there’s no physical exchange (as there is for stocks) and a global network of banks and other financial institutions oversee the market (instead of a central exchange, like the New York Stock Exchange).
