FT Guide to Foreign Exchange Trading

6

What moves the markets?

There is a range of what we call macroeconomic factors that can have a big impact on currency prices. While some traders pay more attention to these than others, it is useful for anybody opening an FX trading account to have at least some idea of what it is that moves currency markets. It will at least help you to interpret what some of the analysts are talking about, as well as to get a feel for what the market is thinking about.

Central banks

Central banks are very important players in the currency markets. They are often responsible for printing actual physical bank notes, but they also need to manage the supply of that currency in the global economy. Too much in circulation could mean inflation – the currency ...