If I buy shoes online from a European merchant today using my dollar account, I have to convert my dollars into Euros. That is the forex market in play right there, the global market that never sleeps.

Many have made their fortunes trading currencies and for very good reason.

You too can leverage the advantages offered by this lucrative market to make your fortune.

Here are 10 reasons why the foreign exchange market is the best for trading.

1. Most Liquid Market

The forex market transacts a daily turnover volume of more than USD 4 trillion. That is a 4 with 12 zeroes, my friend, and is at least twice the annual US Federal Budget. That figure dwarfs the combined volume of futures markets and equity markets globally.

With such high volumes, you are assured of excellent currency price stability even during the most extreme market conditions.

This means as opposed to trading shares, stocks, or commodities, with forex you do not have to worry so much about slippage.

The price quoted on your price chart is the price you get to pay.

2. No Trade Entry Barriers

To trade shares or commodities you may be required to undergo some vetting and registration processes and be considered for qualification.

However, with access to the internet, anyone in the world can open a forex account with almost any broker in the world and stat trading immediately.

There are no licenses required, no special affiliations, and no educational requirements.

Here is a review of some of the best brokers in the market.

3. Low Capital Requirement

The forex market is a free for all. Not only does it have no restrictions on who can trade, it also offers many types of accounts affordable to all types of traders.

You can open a micro account with as little as $5 and start trading micro lots and make money. You do not need to be already rich or to take on loans in order to benefit from this mammoth market.

4. Low Margins

While you can open an account with such little amounts of money, that alone will not make you rich. That is why brokers, such as Saxo,  afford you the opportunity to use the little you have to control a much bigger share of money.

While countries like the US cap margin requirements to 1:100, this is much higher than what is offered by equity, futures, and other markets.

What this means is that with a $1,000 investment, you get to control and profit from a figure of $100,000 i.e. just 1% margin.

Futures markets typically offer margins of about 10% while stock traders enjoy margins of about 50%.

And while the US imposes the maximum margin of 1:100, you can trade with a foreign broker offering margins as low as 1:500.

5. Equal Opportunity in Rising and Falling Markets

A unique feature of the forex market is that traders stand to gain from both rising prices and falling prices too.

With all other markets, you only stand to profit if you invest in a product whose prices rise.

All other markets have a bullish bias and all traders prefer to go long. Thus, it needs more margin if a trader intends to sell short in order to make any meaningful profits.

The forex market has no such structural bias since you are always trading in currency pairs. Any time you are buying one currency, you are in effect selling another.

6. 24-Hour Daily Trading

All other markets operate from a central exchange where transactions are conducted only during regular business hours. With the global forex market, you can exchange money at any hour of any day of the week.

While brokers in other markets offer some features of 24 hour service, they cannot trade on your behalf until the market is opened and any out-of-hour orders are processed at additional fees and penalties.

The forex market has 3 distinct market trading sessions which are in the US, Europe, and Asia.

This means you can trade at high market liquidity any time between Sunday 5pm EST and Friday 4pm EST.

7. Commission-Free Trading

A full service stock trader will charge you not less than $100 per trade while an online stock broker will charge anywhere between $5 and $50 for each trade action.

Futures brokers will charge you $10-30 for each entry and exit trade action. In contrast, forex brokers charge very little or no transaction fees at all.

Forex brokers typically charge no commissions and only profit from the spread which is the difference between the bid price and the ask price.

These spreads can be as low as a single pip depending on which currency pair is being traded and what broker you are using.

8. Market Transparency

Company shares can be difficult to figure out unless you get some inside information from someone who has access to the board of directors.

With the forex market, information is free and readily available for most currencies. News announcements and economic reports are readily available and accessible to any interested parties.

Additionally, the forex market offers instantaneous order executions where most transactions are done over the internet in real time. This adds to the overall transparency of the forex market.

The transparency and instant transactions are due to the fact that the forex market does not rely on a central exchange, has no open-out cry pits, and has no floor brokers.

9. Predictable Price Movements

The forex market is naturally highly speculative and thus, prices tend to spontaneously shoot up or down only to reach a particular point and correct back to a median price.

These movements create repetitive patterns that any trader well trained in price action analysis can discern and use to predict future price movements.

It is for this reason that most beginners are always advised to trade on price trends. You cannot go wrong with forex trade.

10. No Trade Limits

Some financial trading markets have “limit up” and “limit down” days which means traders are restricted from entering new positions when prices move beyond certain pre-determined points.

To control volatility, some markets will additionally impose some price adjustments overnight following these limit ups and limit downs.

Such activities can really damage one’s investment portfolio and reduce your huge profits to worthless paper during period when you cannot take any preventive action.

With the forex market, there are no restrictions to how much one can trade, what time one can trade, or which types of trade transactions one can enter.

Thus, forex traders do not have to worry about gaps and can always sell at the exact price they desire.