The Rand Desk Forex notes from South Africa
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Guides

Seven forex guides, in the order we would read them

The contract, the quote, the bill, the size, the order, the clock, then the firm. Each one stands on its own if you already know the earlier step.

Sample phone screen with a USD/ZAR quote of 18.2461, sell at 18.2410 and buy at 18.2461.

Start here

Before you fund an account

What retail forex usually is in South Africa, and a first month that is supposed to feel slow.

Sample desktop chart of USD/ZAR during a drawn afternoon session, with the price drifting lower.

The quote

When the rand is the home currency

How to read USD/ZAR, and why a higher number means the rand bought less.

Sample order ticket for 0.10 lot of USD/ZAR, showing a spread of 0.0051 and about R1 a pip.

The bill

What you pay to be in the trade

Spread, pip value and overnight financing, worked in rand on a tenth of a lot.

Sample size card with a R50 loss budget, an 80-pip stop at 0.01 lot, and a note that 0.10 lot spends about R51 on the spread.

The size

Choose the loss before the lot

A worked R50 budget, and why a tenth of a lot can spend it on the spread alone.

Sample ticket buying USD/ZAR at 18.2461 with a stop at 18.2411, already through the sell price of 18.2410.

The order

A stop is a request, not a lock

Market, limit and stop, and a 50-pip stop that the spread has already passed.

A winter sketch of the forex day in SAST, from the Sunday reopen through London, New York and the Friday close.

The clock

When the rand market is awake

Sunday night to Friday night in South African time, and the gap in between.

A checklist screen reminding you to match the FSCA register to the legal name on the contract.

The firm

Check the name on the contract

How to use the FSCA register, and the small withdrawal that tells you more than a banner does.