IB forex question

just opened IB account to trade forex. money in us dollars. if i wanted to trade aud pairs, do i initially have to buy australian dollars on the platform before i put in trade/execute or will the system automatically do that via loan? maybe the better question is what/how people think i should be handling monies in different currencies.

btw, their webinars are terrible!

thanks to those that reply

To be honest, if you dont know this, you shouldnt be trading real money.

i've been a professional trader for 12 years, finally changing backup brokers and learning a new platform. this is how i have been supporting my family, shouldn't be trading?

if you are not going to help, don't respond at all. this website is to help people, not to be an a**.

everyone knows IB customer support is not helpful in answering any questions, which is why i'm posting here. instead of learning the hard way, i was hoping a helpful trader would give me an answer...obviously you aren't it.

think before you speak.

12 years and you still dont know how brokers work in retail FX.

I wasn't being an ass, just being honest.

Your answer is simple. You don't have to change currencies of your balance, as the broker executes orders on credit (or trades your position against its own clients).

Again, my advice would be to research a bit more before trading real money.

are you talking about Interactive Brokers or IBfx?

your not being a**, your being a d***

at gft, they automatically convert back to your currency, ib doesn't so i asked a simple question.

risk real money...if you can read i've been doing this for living...

don't comment any more, if you don't want to help move on

i am asking about interactive brokers. i took the webinar on their website but they address the issue very sparingly.

like i said in the previous post, my other brokers have always automatically swung the trade back to USD at the conclusion of the trade. i just didn't know if at interactive brokers i have to buy the underlying currency first from USD before i can trade it. the explanation of how this works is very unclear.

thx in advance for your answer.

Hey don't worry about the conversion. IB automates it. My account is denominated in usd. I take a short on gbp.jpy they will convert my currency into either gbp to short jpy or vice versa.

Why so touchy, pipboy? It sounded to me as if Takisd was giving an honest answer to what he thought was a rookie question. It happens every day around these parts. There's no call for a seasoned veteran like you to react so defensively.

kalparker,

thanks for your time. i guess it took a while to get a classy response.

as far as overreacting, i do not think people should treat rookies this way. i'm not a rookie, and it still offends me. all of us learned the ropes, and i think we all agree that with generous people like kalparker, it makes trading a whole lot easier. instead of being an ass, just answer the question and go on your way. what else is the broker discussion for, to help other traders learn about brokers unfamiliar to them.

after trading on different fx platforms where all the brokers autoconvert, i asked an innocent question on how best to deal with IB's currency policy. does that mean i shouldn't trade with real money? NO, IT'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTION. not a question of trading ability.

if i needed attitude, i would have just called interactive brokers directly.

Takisd can be...terse, this is true. But he's a straight shooter and he did answer your question in his second response to you, post #4.

gt, pipboy. Hope I didn't offend you.