Trading, in plain English.

Regulatory framework requiring brokers to verify client identity and monitor transactions to prevent illicit finance.

A volatility indicator showing the average price range over a period — typically 14 bars.

Automated trade execution using pre-programmed rules — speed, precision, and discipline beyond human capability.

Simultaneously buying and selling the same asset across different venues to profit from tiny price differences.

The price at which a broker will SELL a currency or asset to you — the higher of the two quoted prices.

Adding to a losing position at a worse price in the hope the market reverses — doubles your exposure and your risk.

The first currency in a forex pair — EUR/USD means the base is EUR, priced in USD.

A sustained market decline — typically defined as a 20%+ drop from recent highs across major indices.

The price at which a broker will BUY a currency or asset from you — the lower of the two quoted prices.

The original and largest cryptocurrency by market cap — launched 2009 by pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto.

UK's central bank — sets GBP policy rate and quantitative policy.

Japan's central bank — historically the most dovish G10 central bank, driving long-term JPY weakness.

A technical indicator plotting standard deviations above and below a moving average to show volatility ranges.

A sustained market rally — typically a 20%+ rise from recent lows across major indices.

France's benchmark stock index — 40 largest publicly traded French companies on Euronext Paris.

A derivative that pays the difference between an asset's entry and exit price without you owning the underlying.

A monthly measure of inflation tracking a basket of consumer goods. High-impact release for all major currencies.

A price chart format showing open, high, low, and close for a period — the body is colored green for up, red for down.

Borrowing in a low-interest currency and investing in a high-interest currency to pocket the difference (plus any FX move).

A flat fee per lot charged by some account types (typically ECN) in exchange for tighter raw spreads.

Digital assets secured by cryptography and traded on decentralized networks — Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins.

Germany's benchmark stock index — 40 largest companies on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Opening and closing all positions within the same trading day to avoid overnight risk and swap charges.

A broker model where your orders are matched internally instead of being routed to external liquidity providers.

A practice account funded with virtual money that uses live market conditions to let you trial strategies without financial risk.

The peak-to-trough decline in account equity — a key metric for evaluating strategy risk.

An automated trading program that runs on MT5 and places trades according to a coded strategy.

Central bank of the Eurozone — sets EUR monetary policy for 20+ member states.

A broker model where orders are matched directly against tier-1 bank liquidity with zero dealer intervention.

Your account balance + unrealized P/L of open positions. The live value of your account right now.

The second-largest cryptocurrency — supports smart contracts and the majority of DeFi activity.

The US Federal Reserve's policy committee — sets interest rates and quantitative policy every ~6 weeks.

UK's benchmark stock index — 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange.

Two currencies quoted as a ratio — the base/quote format. EUR/USD, GBP/JPY, USD/ZAR.

Funds available to open NEW positions — equity minus used margin.

Evaluating assets based on economic data, monetary policy, corporate earnings, and geopolitical factors.

Quarterly measure of a country's total economic output — the single most-watched indicator of economic health.

A space on a chart where price "jumped" without trading — commonly happens over weekends or around major news.

The archetypal safe-haven asset — demand rises in risk-off, inflation, or currency-debasement scenarios.

Ultra-low-latency automated trading strategies that hold positions for milliseconds to seconds.

Opening an opposite position to offset risk on an existing exposure — same instrument or a correlated one.

Composite measures of a group of stocks — S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, DAX, Nikkei 225, FTSE 100.

The rate at which the general price level of goods and services rises — eroding purchasing power.

The cost of borrowing in a currency — set by central banks. Higher rates typically strengthen a currency.

Regulatory requirement that brokers verify client identity with government ID and proof of address.

The ratio of position size to margin — 1:500 means $1 of margin controls $500 of exposure.

An order to buy/sell at a specified price or better — fills only at your price or more favorable.

The depth of buyers and sellers in a market — deep liquidity = tight spreads and reliable fills.

Global banks and prime brokers that provide the bid-ask quotes brokers route client orders against.

Buying an instrument expecting the price to rise. Opposite of short.

A standardized position size. Standard lot = 100,000 units; mini = 10,000; micro = 1,000.

Moving Average Convergence Divergence — trend + momentum indicator built from two EMAs and a signal line.

The industry-standard multi-asset trading platform — supports forex, stocks, futures, and crypto CFDs.

The deposit required to open and maintain a leveraged position. NOT a fee — it is blocked collateral.

A broker warning that your margin level has dropped dangerously low — deposit more or close positions.

(Equity / Used Margin) × 100%. The primary metric showing how close you are to a margin call.

An order to buy/sell at the current best available price — fills immediately but may slip on fast markets.

Monthly US employment report — released first Friday at 13:30 UTC. One of the year's most volatile events.

100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq — dominated by tech giants (AAPL, MSFT, NVDA, META, AMZN).

A broker guarantee that you cannot lose more than your deposit — even during extreme gap events.

Open / High / Low / Close — the four price points that define a candle or bar.

The world's most traded commodity. WTI = US benchmark, Brent = global/Middle East benchmark.

A smart-money-trading concept: the last down-candle before a rally, or last up-candle before a decline — seen as an institutional footprint.

A list of buy and sell orders for an instrument at different prices — shows market depth.

Measures wholesale inflation — input costs for producers. Leading indicator for CPI (consumer inflation).

The smallest standard price move in a forex pair — typically the 4th decimal (0.0001), or 2nd decimal (0.01) for JPY pairs.

1/10 of a pip — the 5th decimal place on most forex pairs, the 3rd decimal for JPY pairs.

The number of lots (or units) in a trade — determined by risk amount and stop-loss distance.

A large financial institution providing liquidity, credit, and clearing services to other brokers and hedge funds.

The second currency in a forex pair — in EUR/USD the quote is USD, in which the base (EUR) is priced.

Australia's central bank — sets AUD policy. Known for clear forward guidance.

Momentum indicator (0-100) — above 70 suggests overbought, below 30 suggests oversold.

When a broker offers you a different price than the one you clicked — common on dealing desks.

A price level where selling pressure historically halts an uptrend — often becomes support if broken.

The systematic process of identifying, sizing, and limiting loss on every trade. The difference between traders and gamblers.

Ratio of potential loss (stop distance) to potential gain (target distance). 1:2 means risking $1 to make $2.

500 largest US public companies by market cap — the benchmark for global risk sentiment.

A broker model that forwards orders directly to liquidity providers with no internal intervention.

Very short-term trading — positions held seconds to minutes aiming for small profits on many trades.

Client funds held in a separate bank account from the broker's operational funds — legally distinct.

Risk-adjusted return metric: (strategy return - risk-free rate) / standard deviation. Higher is better.

Selling an instrument you don't own, expecting to buy it back lower to pocket the difference.

A hybrid precious/industrial metal — more volatile than gold, with industrial demand layered on top.

The difference between requested and executed price — positive slippage helps you, negative hurts.

The difference between the bid and ask price — your cost to open and immediately close a position.

An order to buy/sell once price reaches a specified trigger — then executes as a market order.

A predefined price where a losing position automatically closes — your line in the sand.

Automatic position closure by the broker when margin level drops below a threshold (typically 50%).

A price level where buying pressure historically halts a downtrend — often becomes resistance if broken.

Overnight financing charge or credit on positions held past the broker's daily rollover time.

Holding positions for several days to several weeks — capturing larger price moves than day trading.

A predefined price where a winning position automatically closes — locks in profit before the market reverses.

A predefined exit level where partial or full position closes to lock in profit.

Using price and volume patterns on charts to forecast future price direction.

The smallest price change in a market — one increment up or down.

A stop-loss that moves with price in your favour but never backwards — locks in profit as trend continues.

Percentage of labour force actively looking for work — high-impact monthly release for major currencies.

A remote server running your MT5 24/5 — EAs keep trading without requiring your laptop on.

The magnitude and frequency of price changes — higher volatility means larger, faster moves in both directions.

A sudden reversal in direction that triggers stop-losses on both sides — common in choppy or low-liquidity markets.

A small interactive tool embedded in a webpage — calendar, ticker, chart, or calculator.

The income return on an investment — interest on bonds, dividends on stocks, carry on FX positions.

A market where every winner's gain equals another participant's loss — before costs.