Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Open a forex trading account

Access over 330 forex pairs on a forex trading account with CMC Markets.

KEY BENEFITS

Spread bet and trade CFDs on a huge range of forex pairs, including EUR/USD and GBP/USD

Join 1 million+ traders and investors globally*

Competitive forex spreads and margins

No minimum deposit to get started

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FCA regulated

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Segregated funds

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FTSE-listed group

Start forex trading

Trade CFDs and spread bet on a huge range of forex pairs, including EUR/USD and GBP/USD.

1

Open a forex trading account

Gain access to over 330 forex pairs and 12 customised forex indices.

2

Research

To help you find the right forex pair to trade, we’ve got a wide range of news and insights to give you the information to back your instincts.

3

Pick an instrument

Choose a forex instrument to start trading from our broad range of forex pairs.

4

Decide if you want to buy or sell

Determine your entry and exit points based on your forex trading strategy.

5

Manage your risk

Use the risk-management orders outlined in your trading plan. These could include stop-loss and take-profit orders.

Types of forex accounts

Choose which type of forex trading account is right for you. Both spread betting and CFD trading are financially leveraged products, which means that you only need to deposit a small percentage of the full value of the trade to open a position. Your profits and losses are therefore amplified based on the trade’s full value, and not your deposit.

Spread betting

If you’re a resident of the UK or Ireland, you can open a spread betting account to start forex trading. Spread betting is a tax-efficient trading method** that is free from capital gains tax and stamp duty.

CFD trading

You can also choose to open a CFD trading account to start forex trading. CFD trading accounts are available globally and are also free from stamp duty in the UK. Additionally, any losses made with a CFD trading account are deductible for tax purposes.

Trade CFDs on forex on our award-winning platform^

Fully customisable to suit your trading style

Industry-leading charting package

Over 115 indicators and 70 chart patterns

Layouts for market overview or deep-dive analysis

Price projection tools and much more

Major forex indices to trade

EXCLUSIVE TO CMC

We offer 12 different forex indices. Each is made up of a range of currency pairs with the same base currency. So the CMC USD Index, for example, is made up of a collection of US dollar pairs. Our full range of forex indices is listed below.

CMC USD Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the US dollar.

CMC GBP Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the British pound sterling.

CMC EUR Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the euro.

CMC AUD Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the Australian dollar.

CMC CAD Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the Canadian dollar.

CMC CHF Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the Swiss franc.

CMC CNH Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the Chinese yuan.

CMC JPY Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the Japanese yen.

CMC NOK Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the Norwegian krone.

CMC NZD Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the New Zealand dollar.

CMC SEK Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the Swedish krona.

CMC SGD Index

A collection of currency pairs that share the same base currency, the Singapore dollar.

Why spread bet or trade CFDs on forex?

There are many reasons to spread bet or trade CFDs on the global forex market with us, including:

Tax-efficient trading

There’s no capital gains tax or stamp duty on forex spread bets, and no stamp duty to pay when trading CFDs.

Go long or short

Choose to either go long and ‘buy’ or short and ‘sell’ your chosen forex instrument.

Trade from 30:1 leverage

Deposit from just 3.3% of the full value of your position to open a trade.

Trade 24 hours a day

As it’s a decentralised market, you can trade on forex 24 hours a day from Sunday night to Friday night.

Hundreds of FX pairs

Trade CFDs and spread bet on our customised forex indices or our vast range of 330+ forex pairs, with access to major, minor and emerging currency pairs.

A regulated provider

CMC Markets UK is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), registration numbers 173730 and 170627.

Open a forex trading account

See our competitive forex costs

Whether you trade the majors, minors, movers or our forex indices, costs are important. That’s why we’re committed to being transparent with our pricing across the industry’s widest range of instruments – see the pricing for our most popular forex pairs below.

InstrumentSpreadHolding cost (Buy)Holding cost (Sell)Margin rate
----5%
----3.3%
----3.3%
----3.3%
----3.3%
----3.3%
----3.3%
InstrumentSpreadHolding cost (Buy)Holding cost (Sell)Margin rate
----5%
----5%
----5%
----5%
----5%
----3.3%
----3.3%
InstrumentSpreadHolding cost (Buy)Holding cost (Sell)Margin rate
----5%
----5%
----5%
----5%
----5%
----5%
----5%
InstrumentSpreadHolding cost (Buy)Holding cost (Sell)Margin rate
----5%
----5%
----5%
----5%
----5%
----5%
----5%

FAQS

How much do you need to open a live forex trading account?

It’s free to open a live trading account and no deposit is required. Read more details on spreads, margins and trading costs in our guide to 'how much do you need to start trading forex?'

What are the most popular forex pairs to trade?

Our most popular forex pairs include EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, AUD/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY. We offer a mix of major, minor and exotic crosses, so learn how to trade currency.

What is an example of a live forex trade?

To help you understand how forex trading works, view our forex trading examples, which take you through both buying and selling scenarios in the live forex markets.

Can you make a living from forex trading?

It’s possible to make a living from trading on the forex market, such as trading from home as a full-time trader. However, it’s likely to take time, patience and dedication to gain experience and build a trading strategy. Practise your strategy with a spread betting demo account.