Top Tips for Mobile Forex Trading

Despite the immense size and volatility of the global forex market (and its potential to deliver leveraged returns), traders may be loath to invest in this space in the current macroeconomic climate.

After all, inflation remains disproportionately high throughout the world, with Australia seeing inflation peak at 7.3% in September 2022, This was well above the central bank’s target of between 2% and 3%.

In terms of what causes inflation, there are several factors at play here. In the current climate, for example, inflation has largely been triggered by a disproportionate increase in the cost of wholesale gas. This was precipitated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has also threatened to cause food instability and increased the price of core commodities and staples such as wheat.

Still, the speculative nature of the forex market means that this remains a popular option for traders who want to leverage price volatility to their advantage. Mobile trading offers you the best potential results in this respect, but what are the top tips when using your smartphone to place FX orders?

Getting Started Choosing Your Trading Platform

To trade successfully through a mobile device of your choice, you’ll first need to identify a viable online brokerage and compatible mobile trading platform.

There are variable options native to Android and iOS, so you’ll need to compare the specific market for your device and take time to ensure that you make an informed choice. You should also avoid selecting a platform based on recommendation alone, as every trader has a different philosophy and outlook that needs to be addressed.

Once you’ve identified a shortlist of potential platforms, you should keep the following points in mind before making a final commitment:

#1. Check Out the Interface 

Mobile traders, particularly those of you who have an appetite for risk and engage in short-term trading strategies such as scalping, will need to be reactive and execute a potentially high volume of trades in a matter of minutes.

This relies on you having a simple and easy-to-use interface, which immediately connects you with charts, graphs and in-depth technical analysis.

The iconic MetaTrader 4 is considered to be one of the best platforms in this respect, while this is also supported by a simplistic programming language that’s tailormade for beginners.

#2. Use a Demo Account

All licensed online brokers will offer you access to a demo account, which can be accessed through a compatible mobile trading platform.

This is the best way to explore the markets and platform in question while using your mobile device, while you’re typically allowed to utilise this feature and hone your trading strategies for a period of six months.

Additionally, using a mobile demo account helps to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical trading, which is key given the complexity and volatility of the forex market.

#3. Stability and Performance

It’s likely that your smartphone will have 5G capability in the modern age, and this should optimise the connectivity of your device and its ability to maintain your access to the global FX market.

However, mobile apps of any description can have their own instability and connectivity glitches, and it’s important to appraise platforms based on their performance over time.

Remember, even small instances of instability can disrupt your trading strategy and deny you crucial profits, determining whether you’re profitable or loss making in the process.

General FX Trading Tips When Starting Out

Once you’ve identified a viable mobile trading platform that suits your needs, device type and OS, you can access a demo account and begin to deploy your carefully crafted forex strategies.

When the time comes to start trading your own capital, there are some additional considerations that are relevant to both desktop and mobile trading. Here’s a detailed breakdown:

#1. Start Small and Scale Your Efforts Organically

Even with access to practical market experience and a familiar trading platform, the challenge of investing real money can be daunting.

So, it’s important to start small and by trading one or two major currency pairs, including highly liquid assets such as the EUR/USD (which accounts for approximately 24% of global daily trade volumes).

If you have particular knowledge of a currency like the Australian dollar (AUD), you may want to focus on prominent and associated pairs such as the CNY/AUD and JPY/AUD (Australia retains strong trading relationships with both China and Japan).

Regardless, you should start small and only look to scale your efforts (and investment) in line with profitability and experience.

#2. Define Your Objectives

On a fundamental basis, one of the most important trading rules requires you to execute a ‘buy’ trade if a market is rising and a ‘sell’ trade if it’s starting to decline.

However, the FX market is entirely speculative, so it’s possible to leverage short-term price depreciation through practices such as spread betting and make a profit. At the same time, it’s not wise to buy or sell when the market is at its highest or lowest, so it;s crucial that you define your philosophy and risk appetite from the outset.

It’s also important to refine and accurately define your objectives within these parameters, as this will inform every decision that you make going forward.

#3. Use Risk Management Measures

If you’re trading using a mobile device and want to adopt a risk-hungry strategy, it’s also crucial that you use at least some of the risk management tools and measures at your disposal online.

This should be part of a comprehensive risk management strategy, which will need to be focused on minimising real-time losses and optimising your chances of being profitable in the marketplace.

One of the best risk management tips is to establish stop loss and take profit levels. These are similar tools, with the former automatically closing positions once they’ve incurred a predetermined level of loss, and the latter specifying the exact price at which to close a position and secure a profit.

These tools help to protect your capital and minimise its real-time market exposure, while it can play a seminal role in helping you to become one of the 30% of forex traders who remain profitable on average!