Foreign exchange trading (forex or FX) is the global market for buying and selling currencies. It’s the world’s biggest financial market by far. At £5.2 trillion, it dwarfs the world’s combined stock markets by a factor of 25. For flexible-rate currencies like the Pound, Forex has a direct impact on exchange rates, meaning their values fluctuate constantly. Other flex-rate currencies include the Euro, Japanese Yen, and the Canadian dollar. Forex is primarily an over-the-counter (OTC)1 market, where trades happen via electronic platforms or over the phone rather than in a physical location like a stock exchange. ... (full story)