Jump to content

Welcome to the new Traders Laboratory! Please bear with us as we finish the migration over the next few days. If you find any issues, want to leave feedback, get in touch with us, or offer suggestions please post to the Support forum here.

  • Welcome Guests

    Welcome. You are currently viewing the forum as a guest which does not give you access to all the great features at Traders Laboratory such as interacting with members, access to all forums, downloading attachments, and eligibility to win free giveaways. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free. Create a FREE Traders Laboratory account here.

nishant

What leverage is??? How it works??

Recommended Posts

Hello Everyone!

 

I'm grossly confused on what leverage means. Please help me out.

 

I'm putting an example:- Say, i'm having an account balance of $1133 and trading 100000 units as 1 lot and have a leverage of 100:1. So margin shall be $1000. So what does it basically mean? Does it mean that i can bear a loss till $1000 on that particular position or is that i can face a loss till $133 as the cushion towards my prospective loss before i get a margin call? Say for instance if i go short in GBP @ 2.0300 with a limit of 2.0100. What kind of Stop loss will subject me to margin call? What if i set stop loss at 2.0450? At what rate will i receive margin call and will eventually make Stop loss automatically triggered?

 

Further what shall be my position if i'm taking leverage of 200:1 instead of 100:1 with the same scenario above? After how many pips going against me from the level of my entry viz 2.0300 will subject me to a margin call? (or at what rate?)

 

Please help as i'm totally confused with the subject. Else if someone can provide me article links which happens to be exhaustive and makes my query clear.

 

Regards

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
  nishant said:
Hello Everyone!

 

I'm grossly confused on what leverage means. Please help me out.

 

I'm putting an example:- Say, i'm having an account balance of $1133 and trading 100000 units as 1 lot and have a leverage of 100:1. So margin shall be $1000. So what does it basically mean? Does it mean that i can bear a loss till $1000 on that particular position or is that i can face a loss till $133 as the cushion towards my prospective loss before i get a margin call? Say for instance if i go short in GBP @ 2.0300 with a limit of 2.0100. What kind of Stop loss will subject me to margin call? What if i set stop loss at 2.0450? At what rate will i receive margin call and will eventually make Stop loss automatically triggered?

 

Further what shall be my position if i'm taking leverage of 200:1 instead of 100:1 with the same scenario above? After how many pips going against me from the level of my entry viz 2.0300 will subject me to a margin call? (or at what rate?)

 

Please help as i'm totally confused with the subject. Else if someone can provide me article links which happens to be exhaustive and makes my query clear.

 

Regards

 

Hi Nishant... a 200:1 leverage its not serious on my opinion...

 

100:1 its ok... let me give you the EFX example as I consider them a nice broker as they have an ECN type platform...

 

1 contract moves 10.000 units of X currency on x pair... for the sake of simplicty lets say its a USD pair ej. USD/JPY... so in that case each contract will cost you $100 as your leverage is 100:1 wich is $100 x 100 leverage = 10.000 units...

 

In terms of margin calls it depends on the broker... some work with a 25% others if their is equity for you position... no problem...

 

should you have at least $200 on acct for each $100 you trade you should be ok... and manage yourself with technical stops... hope this makes some sense... cheers Walter.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Nishant

 

$1133 is too small to be trading a whole lot, even a half lot would be stressful.

Opening a 1 lot position would take out $1000, leaving $133, but your pip margin would normally take another $10 per pip, depends on the pair, but there is only 13 pips = $130 (typically) to cover pip margin plus drawdown before you get a margin call.

 

If you trade half lots, entry costs you $500 plus $5 typically per pip of pip margin, say $10 in EURUSD for example, you then have $490 or about 49 pips of drawdown before you get a margin call. But you may need to read your suppliers rules to find out what call limits they apply.

 

If your supplier uses a 25% margin limit that might be nearly $300 on a $1200 balance and you probably are "allowed" to spend only $900 when opening a trade. So a 1 lot trade might get "insufficient funds" but a 1/2 lot might work.

 

Any balance below $2500 makes for stressful trading even using just half lots for me. It has been said that nobody has been known to successfully trade a 200:1 account long term, but maybe that is just talk, I don't know. I believe it would be frustratingly slow to trade with and the temptation to overtrade would crash the account for most people. It is said that the average trade lasts 1 to 4 hours and to spend 2-8 hours working for like $20, maybe, is maddening.

 

Leverage is very much a two edged sword, you need some leverage yet it is also the thing that kills most peoples balances I suspect. I am uncomfortable trading 1 lot on a $5k balance, I have become aware that it is tighter to trade with than it seems. You don't have to get far below $5k before drawdown frightens you and then you start becoming too nervous to leave a trade running. Close out on $20 plus or minus and find the pip margin eats your equity away when you trade like that. Leverage can be a stress mine field.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If you compare p/l per pip on trades in the same pair on different weeks, you will probably find it paid or cost different $/pip on different weeks. It is not a fixed $/pip, it varies constantly with exchange rates.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

leverage can be lethal. When things go wrong, complete wipe outs are the typical results. And note that I am not saying "If things go wrong..." because at some point, they will!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

All I can think is that in very quiet sections of the forum they might only be a couple of pages back. Of course once they have been bumped it's pretty much impossible to tell. I dunno it's a bit of a mystery to me. Actually sometimes when its an 'olden but golden' thread and the new input is substantive it can be welcome. More often than not that is not the case though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
  brownsfan019 said:
How do people even find threads 2 years old? Who has the time to do that?...:roll eyes:

bored forex traders?

 

anyway, since I am here, some info for beginners:

 

-How much in dollars is this movement worth, for example, per 100,000 Euros in EUR/USD?

 

(one pip, with proper decimal placement / currency exchange rate) x 100,000

 

(.0001/1.2550) x EUR100,000 = EUR 7.97

 

But we want the pip value in USD, so we then must multiply EUR 7.97 x (EUR/USD exchange rate): EUR 7.97 x 1.2550 = $10

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Leverage is the ability to gear up your account- for low capital investors , a high leverage would be helpful as for example :

you want to open a 0.01 lot of EUR/USD , using a 1:1000 leverage you will need 0.16 margin , but with 1:500 u will need 0.31 Margin ( depends on quote at that time )

so the more your leverage gets lowered the more margin you will need to open a trade .

also keep in mind that high leverages are a potential risk for beginners so watch out of it

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


  • Topics

  • Posts

    • AMZN Amazon stock, nice buying at the 187.26 triple+ support area at https://stockconsultant.com/?AMZN
    • DELL Dell Technologies stock, good day moving higher off the 90.99 double support area, from Stocks to Watch at https://stockconsultant.com/?DELL
    • MCK Mckesson stock, nice trend and continuation breakout at https://stockconsultant.com/?MCK
    • lmfx just officially launched their own LMGX token, Im planning to grab a couple of hundred and maybe have the option to stake them. 
    • Date: 2nd April 2025.   Market on Edge: Tariff Announcement and Volatility Ahead!   The US economic and employment data continues to deteriorate with the job vacancies figures dropping to a 5-month low. In addition to this, the IMS Manufacturing PMI also fell below expectations. However, both the US Dollar and Gold declined simultaneously following the release of the two figures, an uncommon occurrence in the market. Traders expect a key factor to be today’s ‘liberation day’ where the US will impose tariffs on imports. USDJPY - Traders Await Tariff Confirmation! Traders looking to determine how the USDJPY will look today will find it difficult to determine until the US confirms its tariff plan. Today is the day when Trump previously stated he would finalize and announce his tariff plan. The administration has not yet released the policy, but investors expect it to be the most expansionary in a century. President Trump is due to speak at 20:00 GMT. On HFM's Calendar the speech is stated as "US Liberation Day Tariff Announcement". Currently, analysts are expecting Trump’s Tariff Plan to impose tariffs on the EU, chips and pharmaceuticals later today as well as reciprocal tariffs. Economists have a good idea of how these tariffs may take effect, but reciprocal tariffs are still unspecified. In addition to this, 25% tariffs on the car industry will start tomorrow. The tariffs on the foreign cars industry are a factor which will particularly impact Japan. Although, traders should note that this is what is expected and is not yet finalised. Last week, President Trump stated that he would implement retaliatory tariffs but allow exemptions for certain US trade partners. Treasury Secretary Mr Bessent and National Economic Council Director Mr Hassett suggested that the restrictions would primarily target 15 countries responsible for the bulk of the US trade deficit. However, yesterday, Trump contradicted these statements, asserting that additional duties would be imposed on any country that has implemented similar measures against US products. The day’s volatility will depend on which route the US administration takes. The harshness of the policy will influence both the Japanese Yen as well as the US Dollar.   USDJPY 5-Minute Chart   US Economic and Employment Data The JOLT Job Vacancies figure fell below expectations and is lower than the previous month’s figure. The JOLT Job Vacancies read 7.57 million whereas the average of the past 6 months is 7.78 million. The ISM Manufacturing Index also fell below the key level of 50.00 and was 5 points lower than what analysts were expecting. The data is negative for the US Dollar, particularly as the latest release applies more pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. However, this is unlikely to happen if the trade policy ignites higher and stickier inflation. In the Bank of Japan’s Governor's latest speech, Mr Ueda said that the tariffs are likely to trigger higher inflation. USDJPY Technical Analysis Currently, the Japanese Yen Index is the worst performing of the day while the US Dollar Index is more or less unchanged. However, this is something traders will continue to monitor as the EU session starts. In the 2-hour timeframe, the USDJPY is trading at the neutral level below the 75-bar EMA and 100-bar SMA. The RSI and MACD is also at the neutral level meaning traders should be open to price movements in either direction. On the smaller timeframes, such as the 5-minute timeframe, there is a slight bias towards a bullish outcome. However, this is only likely if the latest bearish swing does not drop below the 200-Bar SMA.     The key resistant level can be seen at 150.262 and the support level at 149.115. Breakout levels are at 149.988 and 149.674. Key Takeaway Points: Job vacancies hit a five-month low, and the ISM Manufacturing PMI missed expectations, adding pressure on the Federal Reserve regarding interest rate decisions. Traders await confirmation on Trump’s tariff policy, which is expected to impact the EU, chips, pharmaceuticals, and foreign car industries. The severity of the tariffs will influence both the JPY and the USD, with traders waiting for final policy details. The Japanese Yen Index is the worst index of the day while the US Dollar Index is unchanged. Always trade with strict risk management. Your capital is the single most important aspect of your trading business.   Please note that times displayed based on local time zone and are from time of writing this report.   Click HERE to access the full HFM Economic calendar.   Want to learn to trade and analyse the markets? Join our webinars and get analysis and trading ideas combined with better understanding of how markets work. Click HERE to register for FREE!   Click HERE to READ more Market news.   Michalis Efthymiou HFMarkets   Disclaimer: This material is provided as a general marketing communication for information purposes only and does not constitute an independent investment research. Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of buying or selling of any financial instrument. All information provided is gathered from reputable sources and any information containing an indication of past performance is not a guarantee or reliable indicator of future performance. Users acknowledge that any investment in Leveraged Products is characterized by a certain degree of uncertainty and that any investment of this nature involves a high level of risk for which the users are solely responsible and liable. We assume no liability for any loss arising from any investment made based on the information provided in this communication. This communication must not be reproduced or further distributed without our prior written permission.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.