Example of an FX Trade Currency Pairs Leverage* Margin Trading Costs
Example of an FX Trade
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If you think that the Euro will rise relative to the U.S. Dollar you would buy one lot of the EUR/USD currency pair.
The EUR/USD is trading at 1.2553 when you buy it.
The EUR/USD is trading at 1.2674 when you sell it.
You bought at 1.2553 and sold at 1.2674 for a profit of .0121 or 121 pips.
Each pip is worth $1 in the 10K account.
121 pips x $10 = $1,210 profit

In FX, you also have the opportunity to short (sell first) a currency pair if you think it will fall in price.

If you think that the Euro will fall relative to the U.S. Dollar you would sell one lot of the EUR/USD currency pair.
The EUR/USD is trading at 1.2659 when you sell it.
The EUR/USD is trading at 1.2523 when you buy it.
You bought at 1.2523 and sold at 1.2659 for a profit of .0136 or 136 pips.
Each pip is worth $1 in a 10K account.
136 pips x $10 = $1,360 profit

While these are profitable examples, remember that ending up on the wrong side of a trade can cost you a lot of money.

* Without proper risk management, Currency Trading has a high degree of leverage which can lead to large losses as well as gains.