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Friday, July 31, 2009

The Forex Pip Defined

By Bart Icles

The most important thing a new Forex trader must do is to lean how to understand the value of a PIP in a paired currency. A PIP is the acronym for Percentage In Point, or Price Interest Point which is the smallest measure of value in any paired currency in Forex.

Since Forex spreads are relatively very small, and Forex transactions involve mostly large amounts of currency, the currency pairs of majors are quoted accurately to the fourth decimal place, with the exception of the Japanese yen. For example, if the USD/EUR shifts from 1.2345 to 1.2346, the change is 1 Pip. If it shifts from 1.2345 to 1.2305, then it moved by 40 Pips. The 6 most liquid and widely traded currency pairs globally are the:

* EUR/USD, also called the 'EURO" * GBP/USD, also called the "CABLE" * USD/CHF, also called the "SWISSIE" * USD/JPY, also called the "NINJA" * USD/CAD, also called the "LOONIE", or "BEAVER" * AUD/USD, also called the "AUSSIE"

The currency pair of EUR/USD is the most widely-traded of the 6 majors, averaging 100 Pips a day.

Profits and losses are measured in Pips for any paired currency, though the Pip for a USD/JPY or US Dollar/Japanese Yen is not the same value as the Pip of a USD/EUR, or US Dollar/Euro, as it is quoted only at two decimal places; so the yen's Pip value is .01.

If you trade the currency pair of USD/JPY at 110.95 and moves to 111.0, it gained 5 Pips. With a quote of 77.48 that changed to 77.53 would mean a 5 Pip increase. If it were the USD/CAD pair while at 1.0234, then changes to 1.0224, 10 Pips would have been lost. Trading with the AUD/USD with an exchange quote of 1.9876, the Pip equivalent is .0001, as it set by market makers at 4 decimal places.

So, in Forex trading "30 Pips" would mean thirty units of value in trading. Since individual currencies have different quotes in terms of Pips, it's important to take note of such differences so as not to get confused in your trading. Dealing with large sums might seem daunting at times, but will get easier gradually as you begin to get acquainted with Forex trading as time passes.

Many other currencies besides the Yen have a four decimal place - those mainly paired with the USD at .0001. If you just keep in mind that a Forex Pip is one unit of the furthest listed decimal place, and that each currency pair is assigned a different value, then you'll be well on your way to becoming a future, successful trader. - 23217

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