When starting out in online Forex trading, you must understand the mechanics of the Forex market. If you want to preserve the cash balance on your brokerage account, at the very minimum, you must have some concept of economic fundamentals and technical analysis.
The primary influences of the Forex market are global macro-events and news, providing the potential to make significant trading profits from the volatility.
If the FOMC cuts US interest rates unexpectedly, currencies are likely to move wildly. Inexperienced traders may be unsure how to trade in volatile markets and make irrational trades in panic. Experienced traders with a system, trade without emotion and will always benefit when the inexperienced do not.
Without having a robust strategy or trading plan in place, trades are mostly thoughts only, and thoughts are emotions. It is a weak base from which trade. Getting a Forex education and developing a trading plan is vital if you want to thrive as a forex trader. How can you do this?
There are different ways to study Foreign Exchange basics before you dive into the volatile world of live Forex trading. There is also no reason why it should cost you any outlay with an extensive number of free Forex learning resources available on the internet.
The Best Free Forex Resources Online
Until you understand basics like the Forex currency pair quotation system, trading terms, and market participants, you will not be able to move on and develop a robust strategy for forex trading. Free resources are available online to help you get the basic Forex education necessary to move forward and trade. The top trading resources for mastering Forex basics are:
1. FX Street
The A to Z of everything Forex from the basics to advanced strategies, FX Street is an accessible resource in the online trading community. It has a significant education section providing hundreds of articles and videos and which you can access directly here.
2. Forex.com
An extensive library of educational content is available at Forex.com. This well-regarded CFTC registered online broker caters for all levels of trader from the newbie to the experienced pro and it is free to open an account to access the full suite of educational trading resources. They include, an academy, tutorials, beginner webinars and popular guides. Here is a link directly to the webinar section.
3. Investopedia
Interactive learning from basic up to mid-level education, Investopedia is an all encompassing bible of financial information which is easy to navigate with a simple to understand layout.
4. Babypips
Great for beginners to understand the basics of Forex by presenting complex information in a simple way. They have their School of Pipsology, an excellent free online course to help newbies learn how to trade FX. Baby pips also have a busy forum where you can ask any Forex related question and expect to receive an answer from a member of this thriving community.
5. Investing.com
A forex trading website that can help beginner traders by providing free to use information and resources, including educational material via their education hub as well as analysis and real-time data.
6. Bloomberg TV
Expert panelists and reporters will provide you with copious amounts of Forex market information to digest. Immersing yourself in Bloomberg TV every day is a necessity to get an understanding of the FX market.
7. Youtube
Learn from Youtube channels dedicated to Forex from researching tools and platforms to videos explaining trading concepts. Here is an example of a high quality beginner Forex tutorial made available on Youtube by Trading 212 which has more than 1.2 million subscribers.
8. DailyFX
A free-to-use site, DailyFX provides real-time news, live market data, and in-depth technical analysis for those looking to build their Forex education. A dedicated education section includes free trading courses, guides and research.
9. TradingView
Excellent for charting, TradingView, through cloud-based software, allows all traders to track and research the Forex market with customizable charts. Importantly, TradingView has sections dedicated to education and research.
10. Forex Factory
Forex factory has a trades section where beginners can watch live trades placed by a more experienced market participant. An excellent forum section hosts a broad range of active Forex related discussions.
The Best Free Online Forex Courses
Online courses train you to read charts, understand price dynamics, open and close positions, and see developing patterns, a further move towards developing your trading strategy. We see courses as an integral step to learn how to trade forex.
There is a number of free online forex trading courses to choose from. We have selected our best five
11. Udemy
Udemy, the well respected learning resource offers free Forex trading courses which you can browse here.
12. Ava Academy
Ava Academy is provided by the online exchange, Avatrade and has free Forex courses ranging from topics such as an introduction to technical analysis and how to start trading-the quick and dirty way.
Here is the link to the online courses at Ava Academy.
13. Class Central
Class Central is an aggregation service that finds free courses including Forex trading from all over the top learning platforms on the internet. Below is the direct link to free online Forex trading courses.
https://www.classcentral.com/subject/forex
14. FX Academy
FX Academy is a highly rated, educational website with a significant number of Forex courses ranging from an Introduction to Forex Trading to Trading With Double Bollinger Bands.
15. Tutorialspoint
Tutorialspoint offer a very comprehensive free multi-chapter Forex trading course covering everything from types of market analysis to fundamental market forces and position sizing and money management. The course can be accessed here.
Finishing Your Online Forex Education
Once you think you have covered the basics through free online resources and furthered your Forex education with online tutorials, it is the time to develop a strategy.
Unless you have done so already, you will need to open an account with an online broker, and the final stage before you start trading with real money will be to hone your strategy on a demo account. A reputable CFTC regulated broker like forex.com will allow you to open an account and practice in their demo environment.
Forex resources, ourselves included, advocate getting hands-on experience by using a demo account. Learning not only to develop or fine-tune a strategy but also to familiarize yourself with your broker’s online platform to avoid making order placement errors when you commence trading live.
We wish you happy trading – From everyone at Axcess FX
Written by Chris Gillie
Chris Gillie is the founder of Axcess FX, a forex software review and research website. He is a former investment banker who worked in FX Sales on the UBS London trading floor. Chris has been using forex trading software as part of his trading set-up since the late 2000s and the embryonic days of MetaTrader and the MQL coding language.
