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The comments and posts published in this blog ARE NOT trading recommendations. They can NEVER be considered as trading calls or advices. If you decide to use the information offered here for your real trading it is at your own risk.

Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.

Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices or other information contained on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. we will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Calculation of Profit and Loss

How do you calculate your profit, or loss? Yes, the platform provider will calculate it for you, but I am sure some of you are interested to know how the calculation is done! So here it is.

Profit/Loss = (SELL value - BUY value) * Contract size * Base currency unit
Base currency unit = Base currency conversion rate in $ (given your account is maintained in $)

First we will calculate on basis of 1 standard lot. 1 standard lot is a contract of 100,000 EUR/USD. The base unit is USD, so the equivalent is $100,000.

Profit: Buy EUR/USD at 1.3360. Sell at 1.3427. Base currency same as Account.
profit in pips = 1.3427 - 1.3360 = 0.0067 = 67 pips. (since pip = 1/10,000 = 0.0001 for base currency USD)
Profit = (1.3427 - 1.3360) * ($100,000) * $1 = $ 670.00

Loss: Sell GBP/JPY at 143.19. Buy at 144.42. Base currency different from Account.
loss in pips = 143.19 - 144.42 = -1.23 = 123 pips (since pip = 1/100 = 0.01 for base currency JPY)
Loss = (143.19 - 144.42) * ($100,000) * (JPYUSD contract value)

JPYUSD contract value will fluctuate throughout the day. Lets suppose USDJPY is 90.00
Therefore, Loss = (143.19 - 144.42) * ($100,000) * $(1/90.00) = -$1366.67

in case your account is maintained in EUR;
Loss = (143.19 - 144.42) * ($100,000) * (JPYEUR contract value) = (143.19 - 144.42) * ($100,000) * (1/125.00) = - 984.00

Next, lets come to mini-lots. Contract value is 10,000 in this case.
You can figure out easily, the profit/loss is one-tenth of that calculated in the above cases.

To sum it up, your profit/loss is a direct multiple of your contract size and your profit/loss in pips. It is not dependent on your margin or the leverage you are using. When you have a position open with a floating loss, such a situation is called a "draw-down". Hence, you should have enough funds in your account to handle a draw-down and prevent a margin-call(same as in stocks and commodities). This is the primary reason - to prevent a margin call - why you should never risk more than 2-5% of your account funds as margin requirement. More on this later!

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