Practise FX trading on an award-winning platform*
Hone your trading skills with our suite of powerful features and tools
- Practise spread betting or trading CFDs on over 300 major, minor and exotic FX pairs
- Powerful charting and innovative trading tools
- Practise on the move with our mobile and tablet apps
- Award-winning support around the clock, whenever the markets are open**
Watch our 'What is forex trading?' video
Value for money
We offer competitive and reliable pricing, with tight spreads and low margins^. Spread bet or trade CFDs on key FX pairs like EUR/USD from 0.5 points and GBP/USD from 0.9 points. Forex margin rates start from 3.3%.
Advanced charting
Powerful charting offers a host of features to support your forex trading, including multiple chart types, over 80 technical indicators and drawing tools, pattern recognition and a chart forum community.
Nearly 30 years' experience
Since launching in 1989, we've become one of the world's leading spread betting and CFD providers. As one of the industry’s pioneers, you can be confident that when you're trading forex with us, you're trading with the one of the best in the business.
Intuitive platform
Our unique online trading platform, Next Generation, has consistently won multiple awards over the last few years, while our dedicated team are constantly working on new functionality, products and tools to enhance your forex trading experience.
Multiple award-winners
We have won over 50 awards worldwide in the last two years, recognising the quality of our service and dedication to delivering innovation and technology, through our web-based trading platform and native mobile apps.
98% of calls answered in under 20 seconds
When there's a market open, we are too
What is forex trading?
What is forex?
Foreign exchange trading, also known as FX or forex, is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. The forex market is not based in a central location or exchange, so it's open 24 hours a day from Sunday night through to Friday night.
Forex is always traded in pairs. When trading forex, you always speculate on whether the price of the base currency will rise or fall against the counter currency. So with GBP/USD if you think GBP (the base currency) will rise against USD, you go long (buy) the currency pair. Alternatively, if you think GBP will fall against USD (or that USD will rise against GBP), you go short (sell) the currency pair.
If you were right (that is if you went long GBP/USD and GBP went up in value against USD), you would make a profit. If the trade went against you, however, you would make a loss.
Forex is available to trade as a CFD or spread bet and is traded using leverage, which means your potential profits are magnified as well as your losses.
Why trade forex with CMC Markets?
- Huge choice of forex pairs tradable around the clock
- Practise on our award-winning Next Generation platform and mobile apps
- Build your risk management skills with our range of stop orders including guaranteed stop-loss orders
- Award-winning customer service
Open a free spread betting demo account today
Losses can exceed deposits on a live account
Spread bet with a reputed global provider
80,000+
active clients worldwide across all account types
64.5M
trades per annum across all products
13
global offices
Losses can exceed your deposits on a live account
*Awarded Best Platform Features and Best Mobile Phone/Tablet Platform; ranked highest for Platform Reliability and Charting, based on highest user satisfaction among spread betters, CFD and FX traders, Investment Trends 2017 UK Leverage Trading Report; Best Online Trading Platform, Shares Awards 2017.
**Awarded Best Customer Service, based on highest user satisfaction among spread betters, CFD and FX traders, Investment Trends 2017 UK Leverage Trading Report.
^Spreads may widen and margins may increase in volatile markets