What forex trading is
Forex Foundations
Currency against currency
Forex is the global market for trading one currency against another, EUR against USD, GBP against JPY, and so on. It's the largest, most liquid financial market in the world, trading nearly 24 hours a day across global sessions.
A bet on relative strength
Because currencies always trade in pairs, a forex position is really a bet on relative strength. EUR/USD rising means the euro is strengthening against the dollar, not that the euro is rising in some absolute sense.
A decentralized, near-24-hour market
Unlike a stock exchange with one central location, forex trades over a decentralized network of banks and brokers across the globe, which is exactly why it can run almost continuously from Sunday evening to Friday evening.