How do you trade on forex?

When trading forex, you speculate on whether the price of one currency will rise or fall against another. For example, if you believe that the value of the British pound will rise, relative to the value of the US dollar, you would trade the GBP/USD pair.

What is margin in forex?

To open a position you first need to deposit an amount of money known as a margin. The margin required reflects a percentage of the full value of the position. Trading on margin means you place an initial deposit, rather than the full value of the trade upfront. The margin requirement for forex starts at 3.34%, which means you only have to put up 3.34% of the full trade value. This gives you greater exposure to your chosen financial instrument. It's very important to remember that your profits and losses will be magnified, as they're based on the full value of your trade and not just your initial margin.

What is leveraged trading?

One of the advantages of trading CFDs is that you only need to deposit a percentage of the full value of your position to open a trade, known as trading on leverage. Remember, trading on leverage can also amplify losses, so it's important to manage your risk.

Is CMC Markets regulated?

CMC Markets has 15 global offices, including in the UK, Australia, Germany, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and Bermuda. CMC Markets' entities are licensed and regulated by the local authorities, for example, CMC Markets Bermuda is licensed to conduct investment business and digital asset business by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (‘BMA’).

How does CMC Markets protect my money?

As a CMC Markets' client, your money is held separately from CMC Markets' own funds. It is held in segregated client bank accounts distributed across a range of major banks, which are regularly assessed against our risk criteria. Under the BMA rules, retail clients must be provided with negative balance protection. This means that your maximum loss is the amount you have deposited with us.

How do I place a trade?

If you're trading on MT5, select the instrument you wish to trade ('double-click' on your PC), and a new order window will appear. Enter your desired volume (in lots), add any risk-management orders such as a stop-loss or take-profit order. Then place a market order in the direction you wish to trade; buy to go long, or sell to go short. There are several ways to place trades or orders using MT5 – you can learn more about MT5 functionality by navigating to Help > Help topics or Help > Video guides. If you’re trading on our Next Generation platform, search for your desired instrument from the 'Product Library'. Select your chosen instrument ('right-click' on your PC), and select ‘Order Ticket’. In the order ticket box, choose your order type (from Market, Limit, and Stop-Entry Order), and then enter your desired volume in units or amount (this can be configured from the ‘Settings’ menu in the main navigation). Add stop-loss and take-profit levels to minimise your risk, and choose to ‘BUY’ or ‘SELL’, depending on whether you want to go long or short. When you’re ready, select ‘Place Buy Market Order’, or ‘Place Sell Market Order’.

What is the maximum leverage offered by CMC Markets?

For retail clients, the maximum leverage you can currently trade with is 200:1 (or 0.5% margin) with our CFD trading and FX Active accounts.

TradingView is a trading research platform where you can view charts, analyse trends and interact with an online community. You can connect your TradingView account to your CMC Markets account, enabling you to open, manage and close trades within TradingView. Learn more about TradingView here.

What are the key differences between MT5, TradingView and CMC's trading platforms?

MetaQuotes' MetaTrader 5 is globally popular forex and CFD trading platforms. TradingView is a trading and charting platform which you can link to your broker account to place trades. Our proprietary web-based platform is feature-rich and enables access to trade CFDs on 12,000 instruments. With each platform you can choose from our CFD trading or FX Active accounts. Our FX Active account offers spreads from 0.0 pips on six major FX pairs, with a 25% spread discount on all other pairs. There is a fixed, low commission at $2.50 per $100,000 notional value traded. Our trading platform doesn’t require any downloads, while MT5 requires downloading to fully utilise its features, such as algorithmic trading (through Expert Advisors) and social trading available via the MQL5 community. The MetaTrader platforms offer hedging positions by default, while CMC’s trading platform offers netted positions by default.

Can I hedge positions in MetaTrader?

Yes, you can open an opposite, related, or alternative trade, with no interruption for traders using Expert Advisors.

How can I withdraw my funds?

Log in to your MT5 client portal or our trading platform and follow the instructions in the funding section.

How do I reset my password?

You can reset your password by selecting 'Forgot password?' on the login page. We'll then send instructions for changing your password to the email address you use to log in to your account.

What is the complaints procedure at CMC Markets?

Our aim is to provide a high level of service to all our clients, all of the time. We value all feedback and use it to enhance our products and services. We appreciate that from time to time things can go wrong, or there can be misunderstandings. We are committed to dealing with queries and complaints positively and sympathetically. Where we are at fault, we aim to put things right at the earliest opportunity. You can find our complaint handling procedure here{{{ SCROLL-TO-#dispute-resolution }}} or contact us at support@cmcmarketseu.comto begin your account query. Please note that all queries and complaints will be handled in English.

OTC leveraged products, including CFDs, are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 58% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand, CFDs, OTC leveraged products or any of our other products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Forex trading

Trade on up to300 forex pairs with leverage ¹
Spreads from 0.0² pips on major FX pairs
Ultra-fast execution³ with no partial fills
Experienced customer service

Established 1989

2m+ global clients⁴

FTSE 250 group

What is forex trading?

Foreign exchange (forex) trading, is the buying and selling of one currency against another, in what is the world's most actively traded market.

The forex market operates 24/5, and many traders are drawn to it because of its volatility, and the potential trading opportunities.

Forex trading explained

EUR/USD

1.18

0.25%

EUR/GBP

0.87

0.01%

AUD/USD

0.71

0.08%

GBP/USD

1.35

0.22%

EUR/USD

1.18

0.25%

EUR/GBP

0.87

0.01%

AUD/USD

0.71

0.08%

GBP/USD

1.35

0.22%

Why trade forex with us?

We've got your pair

More forex pairs than any other broker¹ If you want it, we've probably got it.

London-based server

Our London based server and industry reputation helps us provide a tier-one liquidity solution, so we can consistently deliver lightning-quick execution speeds⁵.

Unrestricted trading

Our MetaTrader platforms have no restrictions on minimum stop-loss or take-profit distances and limits, especially useful for high-volume traders.

Hedge your positions

Go long and short at the same time on a specific instrument, with no interruption for traders using Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader.

Free premium indicators and EAs

Hone your technical analysis with our suite of free additional premium indicators and EAs.

Straightforward funding

Deposit and withdraw funds easily, and whenever you want to.

Powerful technology you can rely on

To trade with us, you choose a CFD account that suits the platform you want to use.

Standard CFD account provides access to our proprietary and award-winning Next Generation platform, available on PC and mobile. This account can also be linked to TradingView.

To trade on MetaTrader 5, you must create a separate MT5 CFD account. This account is only compatible with MT5 and does not provide access to Next Generation or TradingView.

Read more below about the platforms we offer and find out which one best suits your trading style.

recommended

MetaTrader 5

Trade on the world's most popular trading platform, with tight spreads and ultra-fast execution.

Trade on forex, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies
Spreads start from 0.0 pips with our FX Active account²
Fast, one-click trading
Lightning-fast execution ³
Customisable charts with pre-installed indicators
Automated trading with Expert Advisors

Open MetaTrader account

Mobile

Millions of traders have already chosen the MetaTrader 5 mobile app to trade on the financial markets, anytime and anywhere.

Desktop

Download MetaTrader 5 for PC or MAC and trade on the world's most popular trading platform.

Download MT5

Access MT5 WebTrader

MetaTrader 5

A powerful trading platform designed to provide access to global markets, with advanced trading features and real-time data.

Trade on forex, indices, commodities, shares and cryptos
Spreads from 0.0 pips with our FX Active account²
One-click trading
Ultra-fast execution³
More order types, timeframes, and pre-installed indicators than on MT5
Depth of market display and inbuilt economic calendar
Experts Advisors with faster strategy tester

Mobile

Download the mobile application for Android and take the trading platform with you.

Desktop

Download MetaTrader 5 for PC or MAC to experience its advanced trading tools and features from an industry’s leading provider.

Download MT5

Access MT5 WebTrader

recommended

TradingView

Enjoy the best of both worlds: view and analyse charts on TradingView; trade with our tight spreads and fast execution.

Enhance your trading experience with TradingView’s renowned charts and indicators.
Get inspiration and ideas from one of the world’s largest online trading communities.
Prepare for key announcements with TradingView's easy-to-use financial calendar.
Set up personalised alerts using 13 built-in conditions based on price and volume.
Open, manage and close your trades with us in TradingView.

Open an accountLearn more

Mobile app

TradingView's mobile apps are available on the App Store and Google Play Store. Ensure that your device is up to date and your operating system is supported.

Desktop app

Tradingview's desktop app is available for download on Windows, Mac and Linux.

LinuxWindowsMacOS

CMC Web platform

We've invested over £100m into our award-winning platform¹, creating pioneering technology to suit all trading styles.

Integrated TradingView charts
Advanced order execution
Optimised mobile platform
TipRanks analysis
Client sentiment tracker
Pattern recognition scanner
Morningstar equity research and Reuters news
Fund your account with USDT and USDC, via Binance Pay.

Trade on our platform

Mobile

Packed with powerful features, yet intuitive, and available to all traders. Whatever the next step in your trading journey, our mobile platform can help you get there.

Desktop

We've built our web trading platform to be powerful and intuitive. It combines leading-edge features and security, fast execution, and best-in-class insight and analysis. Designed to support any strategy.

Try our platform

Forex trading costs

Get access to more than 300 FX pairs, and enjoy tight spreads with no hidden fees.

Account types for every trader

Get access to 300 FX pairs¹ with tight spreads and no hidden fees.

CFD trading

CFD trading is a derivative product which enables you to trade on the price movement of underlying financial assets.

Access over 300+ FX pairs – more than anyone else¹
Access 12,000+ global financial instruments¹
Available on MT5, CMC Next Generation, TradingView

INSTRUMENT	MIN SPREAD	MARGIN	PRICE	HOLDING COST BUY	HOLDING COST SELL
AUD/USD	0.6	0.5%	1.00	0.54% (charged)	1.72% (charged)
EUR/GBP	0.7	0.5%	0.87	2.87% (charged)	0.62% (received)
EUR/USD	0.5	0.5%	1.18	2.8% (charged)	0.69% (received)
GBP/USD	0.9	0.5%	1.35	1.07% (charged)	1.07% (charged)
USD/JPY	0.7	0.5%	159	2.03% (received)	4.06% (charged)
USD/CAD	1.3	0.5%	1.38	0.5% (received)	2.67% (charged)
GBP/JPY	1.7	0.65%	215.22	1.97% (received)	4.13% (charged)

INSTRUMENT	MIN SPREAD	MARGIN RATE	PRICE	HOLDING COST BUY	HOLDING COST SELL
EUR/CHF	0.8	0.5%	0.94	2.1% (charged)	0.8% (received)
EUR/AUD	1.0	0.5%	1.62	2.5% (charged)	0.5% (received)
GBP/CHF	1.5	0.65%	1.12	1.8% (charged)	1.2% (charged)
GBP/AUD	1.8	0.65%	1.92	2.2% (charged)	0.9% (received)
AUD/CAD	1.2	0.5%	0.91	1.5% (charged)	1.1% (charged)
AUD/CHF	1.4	0.5%	0.58	2.0% (charged)	0.7% (received)
CAD/CHF	1.6	0.5%	0.63	1.9% (charged)	0.6% (received)
NZD/USD	1.1	0.5%	0.61	2.3% (charged)	0.4% (received)

INSTRUMENT	MIN SPREAD	MARGIN RATE	PRICE	HOLDING COST BUY	HOLDING COST SELL
EUR/TRY	18.0	1.0%	33.62	19.2% (charged)	13.5% (received)
USD/TRY	15.0	1.0%	28.45	18.5% (charged)	12.2% (received)
USD/ZAR	12.0	1.0%	18.32	15.2% (charged)	9.8% (received)
USD/MXN	8.5	1.0%	17.18	14.8% (charged)	8.5% (received)
EUR/TRY	18.0	1.0%	33.62	19.2% (charged)	13.5% (received)
GBP/ZAR	25.0	1.5%	24.65	16.8% (charged)	11.2% (received)
AUD/SGD	3.2	0.75%	0.89	1.8% (charged)	1.2% (charged)

INSTRUMENT	MIN SPREAD	MARGIN RATE	PRICE	HOLDING COST BUY	HOLDING COST SELL
USD Index	0.5	0.5%	104.2	1.2% (charged)	0.8% (received)
EUR Index	0.6	0.5%	108.5	1.5% (charged)	0.6% (received)
GBP Index	0.7	0.5%	126.8	1.3% (charged)	0.9% (received)
JPY Index	0.8	0.5%	88.4	1.1% (charged)	1.0% (charged)

Forex trading

What is forex trading?

Why trade forex with us?

Powerful technology you can rely on

MetaTrader 5

Mobile

Desktop

MetaTrader 5

Mobile

Desktop

TradingView

Mobile app

Desktop app

CMC Web platform

Mobile

Desktop

Forex trading costs

Account types for every trader

CFD trading

FAQs

What are other traders saying about CMC Markets?

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Do you have any questions?

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