Forex (Foreign Exchange) is the international financial market used for trade of world currencies. It has been working since 70s of the 20th century - from the moment when the biggest world nations decided to switch from fixed exchange rates to floating ones.

Daily volume of Forex trade exceeds 4 trillion United States dollars, and this number is always growing.

Main currency for Forex operations is the United States dollar (USD).

Main Forex market participants:

- Central banks of countries;
- Commercial banks;
- Investing banks;
- Brokers, dealers;
- Pension funds;
- Insurance companies;
- International corporations;
- Individuals.

Unlike stock exchanges, Forex market doesn't have any fixed schedule or operating hours - it's open 24 hours per day, 5 days per week from Monday to Friday, since buy/sell orders are performed by world banks any time during the day or night (some banks even work on Saturdays and Sundays). Just like any other exchange, Forex market is driven by supply and demand of a particular tool. For instance, there are buyers and sellers for "Euro vs US dollar".

Exchange rates at Forex are changing constantly, and fluctuations may happen many times per second - this market is very liquid.

Exchange rates are influenced by:

- Economical factors (economical indicators of countries at the moment, politics of Central banks, changing interest rates, behaviour of importers and exporters, etc);
- Political factors (speeches of political leaders, president elections, etc);
- Market participants' mood and feelings, their expectations, rumours, etc;
- Force-major events (terroristic acts, accidents, catastrophes, etc).

Nevertheless, Forex market is much more stable than stock exchanges - it is not subject to huge surges, even if one currency is declining, another one is improving.

One of big advantages of the market is its' close relation with latest information technologies. Clients from different parts of the planet may connect to Internet and start trading. Even big banks tend to use electronic trading - it's the most common way of trading now. At this moment, Forex is at the rapid developing phase, and it's expected to grow more and more in the future.

Some of the advantages of Forex market over stock markets and/or other equities include:

- Traders can make profits both on declining and developing economies;
- Traders can make very short-term orders - with some other markets there are certain regulations;
- Thanks to retail centers like "Forex 4 You", it's much easier to join Forex market - virtually no minimum capital, quick registration, etc;
- Market is not regulated;
- There are no broker commissions or they are very low;
- Much higher leverages are provided;
- Market works non-stop 24 hours.