You have heard all about different cryptos, how to trade different pairs, trading indices versus stocks or cryptos versus stocks, and a range of trading concepts. We have also talked about various technical indicators and how they help you trade.

What we haven’t talked about is how we can help you succeed in your trading. After all, wouldn’t you want to be the trader that goes to the comedy club after a successful day at work? Just think about it, you would be laughing all your way to the bank!

In this article, we will discuss how Cerus Markets can help traders succeed. We won’t make it boring by simply listing all our features and why they are great for a trader. Rather, we will talk more holistically about why some of Cerus Markets’ specific features make sense, who can benefit the most from Cerus Markets, and what opportunities you can harness with Cerus Markets.

What To Look For In A Trading Platform

There are plenty of platforms offering opportunities to trade a wide variety of assets including leveraged instruments like CFDs. It can get a bit overwhelming trying to figure out which one is the most appropriate.

Regulation

In order to gauge the quality and fit of a platform for a trader, it is important to first understand what to look for. We believe that one of the first things to inquire about is whether the platform is regulated. A fly-by-night operator can simply vanish with your capital if you aren’t careful.

Cerus Markets is regulated by the Labuan Financial Services Authority in Malaysia under the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act of 2010. Therefore, it has to follow responsible business practices and provide certain protective features to its customers (traders).

Instruments Available To Trade

The next thing is the variety of instruments available to trade. The more the instruments, the higher the number of opportunities to trade. Stocks, commodities, and crypto are almost standard for a lot of modern trading platforms. 

Derivatives like NDCs and CFDs not only offer leverage but also allow traders to make a bet on one asset versus another. A stock versus an index or one crypto versus another is possible with derivatives. Cerus Markets has over 500 instruments covering a wide variety of asset classes.

Costs And Fees

The costs are another important factor worth considering when comparing platforms. Brokerages and platforms earn their incomes through fees, commissions, and spreads that they charge on trades. Certain value-add services also offer extra income. 

Cerus Markets does not charge fees or commissions. There are no fees on deposits and withdrawals either. Cerus Markets earns through the spread (bid-ask difference) on every trade executed on its platform. Cerus Markets also offers new users a bonus deposit offer where it matches whatever the customer deposits up to a maximum amount of $5,000.

The Platform Interface And Usability

Having a platform that is convenient to use and easy to navigate is important. The platform should be available on the computer and mobile so that you can execute traders on the move.

The platform should graphically be intuitive and offer all the tools and indicators in one place. It should also have news, educational content, and everything needed to be well-informed about the markets.

Lastly, the platform should also be secure. Cerus Markets has a two-factor authentication setup, plenty of content free to read, a web and mobile version, a host of technical indicators, and clean charting graphics.

Cerus Markets has an extensive news portal covering a variety of assets. An economic calendar allows traders to stay on top of all the important events that have the potential to move the markets.

Overall Reputation

Ultimately, the platform that you work with is like your partner. Important money-related decisions are executed by the platform. So, your partner has to be reliable and reputed. One way to check the reputation of a platform is through reviews.

Cerus Markets is verified as a business on Trustpilot’s website. It also has a rating of 4.1 out of 5. The rating can be accessed at TrustPilot

Other Factors to Note

Cerus Markets offers a relatively high leverage ratio of up to 400:1. For cryptocurrencies, the leverage ratio is 100:1. Higher leverage ratios may excite traders, but they can also be a double-edged sword if the trading does not include risk management.

Users can choose to receive push notifications through its Stream service. The platform has an activity terminal where users can set up price alerts and get notified in case of abnormalities or significant price fluctuations. These features are different from a plain vanilla price alert.

ZAOne unique thing about Cerus Markets is that it offers its own trading platform. So, if you are tired of using MetaTrader and want something different, then a proprietary trading platform could be an option to consider.

Traders from 100+ countries can open accounts with Cerus Markets and trade on the global markets. So, traders have access to instruments and assets outside of their home countries. They can truly take advantage of trends and events happening globally.

As a policy, Cerus Markets maintains a strict account separation between its own money and client funds. Therefore, at no point in time is client money used by Cerus Markets. It is important to check this feature among every broker that you research.

Who Can Benefit From Cerus Markets?

Cerus Markets offers a comprehensive trading solution to traders. Those who want to trade crypto CFDs, crypto pairs, and a variety of global assets will find Cerus Markets helpful.

Those who are cost-conscious and dislike paying a variety of fees and commissions will find Cerus Markets’ pricing structure helpful.

Traders who like getting news and updates will appreciate the depth and amount of news content that Cerus Markets generates regularly.

If you are wondering whether Cerus Markets is more of a CFD platform where experienced traders who know how to handle leverage can benefit, then you are partly right and partly wrong. Even those who are very new to trading can find Cerus Markets useful because the platform offers traditional assets for trading as well.

Traders who are motivated to self-learn through online resources and then put the learnings into practice will find Cerus Markets’ content and trading platform combo appealing.

Final Words

In this article, we have talked about the attributes of a good trading platform. We also discussed how specific features of Cerus Markets can make the platform a reliable partner in your trading journey.

We touched upon the educational and content-related offerings of Cerus Markets and also discussed important security features that trading platforms should have.

We hope that you are now better informed about picking the right trading platform.

There are plenty of foreign currencies that a trader can choose to trade and hopefully make a profit. The US dollar, the pound, the yen, the Australian dollar, the Swiss franc, the Euro, and the New Zealand dollar are the popular currencies.

Speaking of popularity, it’s generally the popular folks that get invited to parties. Think about high school and college, wasn’t that the case? What if foreign currencies decided to have an “exchange party”.

You probably think we are crazy writing this sort of stuff but just hold on. What if the US dollar invites the Singapore dollar to that party? The SGD might be a “sing”-ificantly valuable addition to the energy.

There is plenty to like about Singapore. Besides the incredible buildings like the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and the booming tourism, Singapore is an important economy in south-east Asia. It also serves as an important hub in the maritime shipping industry. 

A lot of expats and foreign workers also like living in Singapore and managing the Asian headquarters of multinational companies. Singapore also has no foreign debt and high government revenue. It is a stable economy.

So, trading the Singapore dollar may not necessarily be such a bad idea after all. It may be ok to let the SGD join the currency party. Not many people would be trading the SGD and therefore there may be pricing anomalies to look for.

In this article, we will take a closer look at some basics of forex trading. We will also discuss the US and Singapore economies briefly. Then, we will explore ways in which traders can conceptualize trading strategies.

Sounds ok to you lah? Then let’s go!

Currency Trading, Pips, and Understanding Ratios

When you buy or sell a currency, you use another currency to execute the transaction. For example, if you want to buy the Singapore dollar, you may use the Japanese yen, the US dollar, or whatever currency you hold.

So, trading one currency involves the use of another currency. It is why whenever the price of one currency is quoted, it is an exchange rate. To buy one pound, you may need 1.2 Euros.

Forex traders often talk about price changes in terms of pips. One pip is 0.01% or 1/100th of a percent. So, for example, if the exchange rate of EUR/USD goes up from 1.2010 to 1.2011, then the exchange rate rises by 1 pip. If the exchange rate goes from 1.2010 to 1.2110, and if you were long EUR, then 100 pips are your gain.

Going long or short a currency is like trading a ratio. As explained above, forex trading involves two currencies. You buy one by selling another. So, if you want to buy EUR, you might use your USD to buy. Therefore, you are hoping that the EUR strengthens versus the USD. This can happen if EUR goes up more than USD or if USD stays constant while the EUR rises or if the EUR stays stable while the USD devalues.

Therefore, when trading foreign currency, it is important to understand how one currency is behaving with respect to the other. For USD/SGD trades, you will have to track all the developments in the US and Singapore and how USD will move relative to SGD.

Economic Snapshot Of The American And Singaporean Economies

While plenty of discussion revolved around how the fast increases in interest rates will lead the US to an inevitable recession, that still has not happened. The most talked about metric has been inflation and it has interestingly stabilized if not slowed down.

Unemployment has been at relatively low levels of around 3.6% and payroll growth in June 2023 was 209,000 which was a relatively healthy number as compared to historical data. The US treasury 10Y yield was inching up above 4% while the dollar index looks like it would drop below 100.

A falling dollar index is usually a positive sign for global equity markets. The US stock market has been in an uptrend in 2023. So, overall, there seem to be no recession prospects in the near term.

Singapore, meanwhile, avoided a recession narrowly after its economy grew 0.7% in the second quarter of 2023. The first quarter witnessed a negative growth of 0.4%. Singapore’s central bank has warned of an uncertain future as far as the economy is concerned.

The travel and tourism sector is an important one for Singapore. The sector has been on an uptrend globally and Singapore was no exception. The future prospects for travel and tourism continue to remain bright.

Interest rates for Singapore’s 10Y government bond have risen from around 2.7% in April 2023 to over 3%. The general trend has been up since 2020. The Singapore dollar has strengthened versus the US dollar since peaking in October 2022.

Thinking About USD/SGD Trades

There are two main approaches to trading. One is a systematic style where rules are pre-defined. The other is more subjective and discretionary. It involves the trader making a judgment on whether to trade or not. The rules are loosely defined and they can be flexible in the second approach.

No one approach is better than the other. It all depends on what works for a trader. Discretionary trades can involve technical and fundamental analysis or an event-based opportunity.

Systematic trades are generally strategies that have been backtested and statistically analyzed. The rules of entry and exit are pre-determined. There is no hunch or gut feeling as a trader blindly follows the system.

In the age of algo trading, the rules are fed to a computer and the machine automates the trading. Regardless of the approach used, the use of technical indicators can be one way of identifying trades.

For example, support and resistance levels can be estimated using trend lines and Fibonacci retracement levels. Moving averages may also be used to find reversal points or generate entry/exit signals.

Traders also tend to use Bollinger bands or oscillator indicators to identify trades. There is no dearth of indicators available to analyze the price action. 

Ultimately, instead of hunting for the perfect indicator combination, simply try to use what works for you. Even one indicator, if used effectively, can make you money.

Final Words And Capital Preservation

Trading is a business and profit is not a guarantee. Every trade has a risk-reward equation. In order to attempt to earn a profit, a trader has to risk losing some capital. If things go well, there are profits to be enjoyed.

However, if things don’t go your way, a loss has to be booked. The key, therefore, is to ensure that when you win, you win big and when you lose, you lose small. Risk management is a must for trading currencies or any asset.

In this article, we discussed the basics of forex, touched upon the current scenarios of the American and Singaporean economies, and looked at ways that traders conceptualize trades.

If you are ready to trade USD/SGD, then open a new account with Cerus Markets. The ongoing 100% welcome bonus offer is a good way to begin trading.

Bulls vs Bears. This struggle between the two is something every stock market investor knows. If these stock market bulls and bears were to start their own band, then the bulls will be good at making bullish music that will ride the upbeat trends. The bears, meanwhile, will balance that out with bearish ballads that will soothe investors when the slow music slows things down.

In case you are wondering whether you will actually see bulls raging on a run and bears attacking all over the place then fear not. There is no actual animal involved. Rather, the names “bull” and “bear” is a symbolic term to describe the way the stock market behaves in different phases.

With so much interest in the stock market these days, there is no place for the bulls or the bears to hide (or to play hide and seek). No matter where they hide, the market will always find them. They cannot escape the investors’ watchful eyes!

Through this article, we hope that you will understand bull and bear markets and be able to keep track of them with the same sort of watchful eyes that an experienced stock market participant has.

First, let us understand where the name bull and bear really came from.

Surely The Bears and Bulls Won’t Come Into My Office, Right?

A bull attacks its opponent by using its horns and thrusting its victim in the air. In the same way, when the stock market is in a strong uptrend or a bull run, it will thrust a lot of the stock up as prices will keep on rising.

When a bear attacks its opponent, it swipes down viciously on its victim. Back in the day, salesmen of bearskin anticipated a fall in the price of the bearskin and closed sale transactions at a specific price even before they had the bearskin inventory in possession. This is very similar to short-selling, one of the classic features of a bear market. So, when bears swipe down, the fall is swift and potentially steep.

Thus, a downtrend was viewed as being attacked by a bear while an uptrend was viewed as being thrust up by a bull. That is how the terms bull market and bear market came into being.

So, in case you were worried whether a bull or bear will barge through your door, then you can breathe easy. Just try not to get attacked by the price volatility in case you end up on the wrong side of the market trend.

The Characteristics of a Bull Market

In a bull market, prices rise. Usually, stocks of all companies (small, mid, and large-cap) tend to rise for the most part. Of course, there will be companies that won’t do well, but in general, the prices rise across market caps.

There is also plenty of positive, feel-good sentiment among the market participants. The economy tends to do well during bull markets, there is capital expenditure happening, businesses grow, and the media reports positive things for the most part.

The broad-based positivity and outperformance across sectors and market cap categories invite broad-based participation from investors. It is a sort of feedback loop where price rises invite more participation which leads to more price rises.

In technical analysis terms, indices start making higher highs and higher lows. Some investors from specific markets have even conducted studies to show that even a randomly selected portfolio of stocks performs well during bull markets. 

While that may or may not be true for your specific geography or market, the point being made is that when the tide rises, all the boats in the water also rise.

Valuations of stocks during a bull market also rise. The price-to-earnings ratios begin to head towards historical peak levels (sometimes even exceeding the previous peaks). Bull markets usually coincide with low-interest-rate regimes.

The positivity turns into excitement and then into euphoria. Investors face FOMO or the fear of missing out on the next big wealth-creating stock. Gradually, the bubble bursts, and a bear market makes its way.

The Characteristics of a Bear Market

A bear market happens because prices fall and they continue to fall. Falling prices are not the only criteria of a bear market as a simple pullback during a bull run is also characterized by a slight fall in prices.

However, if the price falls are greater than 20% and if there is a widespread belief that prices will continue to fall, then a bear market is well and truly underway.

During a bear market, there is a sentiment of pessimism and fear. The emotion of fear leads to sharp falls in the prices of stocks and indices. With the falling prices, the sentiment turns negative. The media start reporting everything that is wrong with the economy and how gloomy things can get.

While price-to-earnings ratios of cyclical and other sector stocks fall, defensive sectors tend to do well. Bonds and fixed income can also potentially see higher demand as investors seek refuge from underperforming equities.

News of layoffs starts making its way into mainstream media. Central banks respond to fears of recessions and unemployment by updating their monetary policies. They lower interest rates from high levels in order to stimulate the economy.

What Can Traders and Investors Do In Bull and Bear Markets?

Traders and investors should first accept that bull and bear markets are natural parts of the economic cycle. The goal during a bull market should be to compound capital while the goal during a bear market should be to protect capital.

Market participants should also accept that it is not possible to exactly exit the market at the top of the bull run and enter the market at exactly the bottom of the bear market. However, as long as you are vaguely right with your entries and exits, there are enough returns to be earned.

The key is to recognize that a bull market has begun or that a bear market is in play. If not losing money means sitting out of the market completely, especially in a bear market, then there should be no hesitation in doing that as well. Sitting in cash is not necessarily a bad thing.

Final Words

In the above article, we explained what a bull and bear market is. We talked about how the names bull and bear came into being and how it is linked to the way the two animals tackle their opponents.

We also listed out multiple characteristics that define bull and bear markets and finally touched upon what investors and traders can do during these two phases of the market cycle.

If you are ready to test yourself in bull and bear market conditions, then opening a new account with Cerus Markets is something you may want to consider. Our 100% welcome bonus offer can make it a win-win deal for you.

NFT was a buzzword in the cryptocurrency circles not so long ago. People often used to associate NFTs with instant wealth. People used to suspect that NFT creators and buyers would become wealthy quickly. Wonder why. Perhaps, because they knew how to “token” up the cash and “mint” their own success.

The words token and minting are closely linked to NFTs. You will find out how they are related. After reading this article, you will also understand how NFTs work and how they are different from cryptocurrencies. We will also cover the benefits of NFTs and explain what non-fungible or the “NF” in NFT is.

For all the popularity and buzz around NFTs, the concept remains a mystery to many. We hope to demystify NFTs and help you better understand their impact and where things might go in the future.

What Is NFT?

NFT stands for non-fungible token. It is a digital identifier that certifies the ownership of some asset, physical or digital. Owners who wish to sell their assets can tokenize them via a blockchain-powered process that involves the creation of NFTs.

Each NFT is unique as it has a specific set of ownership data. Because all the information is recorded on a blockchain, anyone can check the details of the NFTs issued. For the holders of NFTs, there is transparency and security in the fact that their ownership of the tokens is verifiable.

NFTs have some intrinsic value and can be traded for money or cryptocurrencies. There are a variety of assets that can be tokenized into NFTs. Real estate, art, music, videos, and in-game items are some examples of assets that have been tokenized in the past.

Since every NFT is a unique cryptographic token, it cannot be replicated and is non-fungible. We will talk more about the non-fungible part later on.

NFTs are also compatible with smart contracts that can be used to execute certain transactions after the NFTs have been minted. For example, smart contracts can be used to automatically process royalty payments or trigger payments if the NFT is sold by its holder. Specific conditions that trigger transactions can be executed using smart contracts.

How Do NFTs Work?

NFTs are powered by blockchain technology. Blockchain is a digital ledger system that is decentralized and not controlled by a central authority. The process of creating NFTs is called minting.

In minting, a new block in a blockchain is created. Each token is then assigned to a blockchain address. Each token is associated with one owner. The information of that owner including his/her address is recorded in the block. The token resides in that address. All of the NFT information is finally validated and the block is closed.

The information stored in the block is publicly available for anyone to verify. An NFT minting process can involve any number of NFT tokens. The key is that each token will have a unique identifier associated with it and that is what makes the tokens non-fungible.

How Are NFTs Different From Cryptocurrencies

The non-fungibility aspect is the difference between NFTs and cryptocurrencies. If there are two bitcoins, they are treated the same by their holders or transactors. One coin can be exchanged for another. The value of one bitcoin is the same as another bitcoin on an exchange. Different exchanges may have different values for Bitcoin, but the value of one exchange stays the same.

However, each NFT is unique and has a unique identifier. One cannot be exchanged with another. Each NFT token is irreplaceable. Each token is almost like an identity card or a passport. NFTs are also extensible, meaning that two NFTs can be combined to create a third unique NFT.

Benefits of NFTs

NFTs offer several benefits that other forms of value-transferring vehicles don’t. 

Efficiency: The most direct benefit is that of efficiency. NFTs help cut out intermediaries and allow asset owners or sellers to link up directly with their target audience. Perhaps, the only intermediaries involved would be those that are adept at hosting NFTs securely. If an asset owner/seller knows how to do that, then there would be no intermediaries. Artists and asset owners have greater control over their work and investments.

Security: The use of blockchain ensures that records are immutable and holders of NFTs can be confident that their ownership is unique, genuine, and can potentially appreciate over time. The record of ownership and certain personal information cannot easily be tampered with.

Fractionalizing: NFTs can democratize investing in large assets like real estate or high-end art. Investing in a physical asset like real estate can be out of reach of smaller investors due to the large ticket size. 

However, NFT tokens can fractionalize the asset and offer access to smaller investors. This fractional ownership can also be transferred from one owner to another. If more people can purchase an expensive painting, the pool of buyers grows and liquidity also increases. Imagine trying to sell something where the pool of buyers is really small.

What Does The Future Hold?

The first NFT is believed to have been minted and sold back in 2021. The NFT was called Quantum and it was minted on the Namecoin blockchain. The concept of tokenizing assets goes even back further to 2010.

NFTs initially grew in popularity as the general public learned about them and the concept gained traction. Art sales done through NFTs were popular and NFT marketplaces also attracted a lot of attention.

However, after an initial surge, the popularity of NFTs appears to be waning. Celebrity endorsements of NFTs and famous personalities using NFTs to generate income are sustaining the popularity of NFTs.

The sceptics of NFTs point to some of the disadvantages of NFTs. The first one is about environmental issues arising out of the mining process in blockchain-based systems. Cryptocurrencies also get a bad rep for this issue because mining farms can consume a lot of energy.

Secondly, the NFT industry isn’t a regulated one and small investors can fall prey to scams. The decentralized form of a blockchain-based system also makes it difficult to ascertain fraudulent activity or copyright infringements.

Lastly, NFTs can be highly volatile just like cryptocurrencies. Values can fluctuate wildly and those who don’t have a risk management system in place could face significant losses.

If NFTs gain traction from institutional investors, they could become a more mainstream asset class. Any solution to environmental concerns can lead to NFTs getting integrated more with industries like music, arts, gaming, and real estate.

About Cerus Markets

Established in 2022, Cerus Markets is authorized and regulated by the Labuan Financial Service Authority, Malaysia. With a focus on innovation, Cerus offers a unique crypto derivative product that allows clients to trade over 200 instruments paired with cryptocurrencies. Alongside crypto derivatives, Cerus also provides trading opportunities in Forex, Commodities, Indices, Single Stocks and Crypto.

We believe in empowering traders of all levels with easy and affordable access to the market. Our trading platform stands out from traditional brokers by not charging entry fees, various deposit methods and a wide range of digital assets starting from just $50 and leverage up to 400:1.

Moreover, traders can benefit from a 100% Deposit matching bonus, doubling the amount of their first deposit and further enhancing their trading experience.

Click here to create your account and start trading today!

 

We are excited to announce a significant update to our stock offering, aimed at enhancing our traders’ experience and optimizing their trading strategies. As part of our commitment to provide the best trading environment and support to our valued clients, we have made adjustments to our leverage ratios for Stocks trading pairs.

Effective immediately, we have refined our leverage ratios for Stocks trading pairs to better align with market dynamics and trading preferences. These adjustments reflect our dedication to maintaining a balance between providing competitive leverage and ensuring prudent risk management.

Single Stocks Leverage Update: 

From 400:1 to 200:1: We have optimized the leverage ratio for Stocks trading pairs, transitioning from 400:1 to 200:1. This adjustment empowers our traders with enhanced flexibility and risk management options, allowing them to tailor their trading strategies to the ever-evolving market conditions.

Crypto Stocks Leverage Update: 

From 100:1 to 50:1: In response to feedback from our trading community, we have also refined the leverage ratio for specific Crypto Stocks pairs from 100:1 to 50:1. This change aims to offer traders greater control over their positions while aligning with their risk tolerance levels.

Our Commitment to Traders’ Success

At Cerus Markets, we believe that a trader’s success is built upon a strong foundation of knowledge, tools, and support. These leverage adjustments are part of our ongoing efforts to provide a trading environment that empowers our clients to make informed decisions, manage risk effectively, and capitalize on market opportunities.

As we implement these leverage updates, our traders can expect:

Enhanced Flexibility: The refined leverage ratios enable traders to customize their positions and strategies to suit their individual trading styles.

Optimized Risk Management: With these changes, traders can exercise more precise risk management, aligning their leverage choices with their risk tolerance levels.

Adaptability: The dynamic nature of the financial markets requires adaptable trading strategies. Our leverage updates facilitate quick adjustments to changing market conditions.

We are confident that these leverage adjustments will further elevate the Cerus Markets trading experience and contribute to the success of our traders. As always, our dedicated support team is available to assist with any questions or concerns that traders may have regarding these updates.

Thank you for choosing Cerus Markets as your trading partner. We look forward to continuing to provide you with the tools and resources you need to achieve your trading goals.

For more information and details about these leverage updates, please reach out to our customer support via support@cerusmarkets.com 

The Euro is one of the most traded currencies in the world. The South African Rand is the most-traded African currency in the world.

With that in mind regarding economic global, trends, Africa is now on the rise. South Africa is about to host the BRICS summit in August 2023 and the world’s attention will be on the country as well as the African continent.

As traders, it may be a good idea to stay on top of the price action of the Rand. In this article, we will discuss how to trade Euro vs South African Rand.

Current Economic Situation In South Africa

As of August 2023, South Africa’s economy is undergoing a tough time. The country is the most industrialized nation on the African continent. However, its GDP fell 1.3% in March 2023 and there were regular power cuts in the country every day.

South Africa’s GDP has almost stayed flat since the end of 2019. During those 4 years, the country’s population grew by around 3.5%. Power cuts force businesses to either shut down or use expensive diesel to power generators, increasing operating costs.

Volatility in commodity prices isn’t helping either. Unemployment in June was north of 32% which is quite high and raises the risk of social unrest. Public debt is also at high levels.

While there are multiple negatives impacting the South African economy at this moment, there are strengths that offer optimism about the future. South Africa is one of only eight African countries that have achieved an upper-middle-income status.

Besides resource extraction, South Africa’s relatively diversified economy also has a strong service component. The financial services industry is an important contributor to the country’s economy. South Africa also has a sizable automotive manufacturing industry. South Africa is also one of the most popular tourist destinations on the African continent.

South Africa Trade

South Africa’s trade performance has a significant impact on its currency. Any trade surplus increases make the South African Rand stronger. Any wide trade deficits make the currency weaker versus other major currencies like the US Dollar or the Euro.

The US is a major export destination for South African businesses. The African Growth and Opportunity Act is a US law that allows duty-free terms to certain African countries. South Africa benefits from this law. However, South Africa is also caught in a wider geopolitical battle between the US, Russia, and China.

South Africa has been attempting to diversify its exports to countries like China and Russia. However, it may face action from the US if a delicate balance isn’t maintained which could lead to negative trade performance.

Such threats have in the past led to the South African Rand falling and government bonds being sold off. The African Growth and Opportunity Act is up for renewal in 2025. So, the next couple of years are critical for the South African economy and its government.

The geopolitical fallout isn’t limited to just manufacturing. South Africa’s status as a financial center of Africa is also susceptible to geopolitics as the country was recently placed on the grey list for failing to adequately tackle financial crimes.

South Africa is hosting the BRICS leaders summit in August 2023 and there have been media reports of the country wanting to trade less in the US dollar. Such moves can have implications for South Africa’s trade as well as its economy.

South Africa’s relations with Russia are also complex. South Africa, being a signatory of the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court, is obligated to arrest Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Therefore, Putin will not attend the BRICS summit in person.

The Price Action of Euro vs Rand

The Euro-Rand exchange rate was around 5 ZAR for a Euro back in 1996. That number in 2023 is north of 20. So, the overall trend has been the steady depreciation of the ZAR versus the Euro.

This long-term trend seems logical as South Africa has been a developing economy with a higher rate of inflation than a stable and mature market like Europe. In fact, most emerging economies have seen their currencies depreciate over time versus developed economy currencies.

The past 5 years have been quite volatile for the ZAR. The exchange rate versus the Euro has swung between 15 and 20 at least twice. The most recent trend has been a move from around 16 in mid-2022 to over 20 in mid-2023.

The current exchange rate of 20.7 ZAR for a Euro is close to historical resistance or peak levels. So, there could be a reversal which would mean that the Rand becomes stronger. However, a breakout from the 20-ish resistance level might lead the exchange rate higher and the South African Rand could depreciate further.

The support level appears to be around 19.75 while the next resistance could be the previous peak of 21.33 achieved in May 2023. The 50 and 18-day exponential moving averages are above the 200-day moving average. So, the overall trend is still up and in the longer term, the South African Rand is likely to continue depreciating versus the Euro.

Probable Trading Strategies For Euro vs Rand

If you believe that the uptrend is likely to hold and sustain, then you may want to go long EUR/ZAR. This effectively means that you sell ZAR to buy EUR. Trading forex is like trading a ratio.

If you are long a ratio, you want the numerator to go up and the denominator to go down. That would be the ideal scenario. However, what makes you a profit is the numerator going up RELATIVE to the denominator.

That means the numerator goes up while the denominator stays the same. Or the numerator staying rangebound while the denominator falls. If you think that the EUR/ZAR exchange rate will fall, then you would go short.

Going short may be the preferred trade for those who believe that the EUR/ZAR exchange rate has hit a resistance zone and it won’t break out from that level. A stop loss above the resistance zone can be used to manage risk in case the thesis does not play out.

For traders going long, one of the moving averages can be a stop loss level. Whatever trade you take, it is important to manage risk.

Conclusion and Risk Management

We will conclude the article with some key points about managing risk. Trading forex can be risky. Do not be carried away by the fact that the exchange rate moves only a few decimal points. The actual profit and loss can be much larger because a lot size has a large volume.

Managing risk means not losing your trading capital. It means losing as little as possible when the tide turns. Limiting your position size and defining the risk using stop losses are some steps that you should consider.

We hope that you have a better idea of how to trade Euro vs South African Rand. We covered some aspects of the South African economy and also talked about possible trading strategies that could be employed. We also provided a picture of the most recent price action.

We hope that this insight will help you better trade the Euro vs South African Rand.

What is Copy Trading?

When the copy trading notion was born, it changed the entire industry dynamic. Allowing beginner traders to copy professional traders’ trades into their account – replicating their performance to make money, was something very new on the scene. Now, it is already a matter of casual application.

So why is copy trading so popular? Well, in the case of beginners – it saves you the share of money you are likely to lose in the first days of your trading journey, letting you observe professional trader behavior and learn from it, while in the case of experienced traders – it is a valuable storage of new ideas and strategies.

How does it work?

Copy trading connects a part of your portfolio to the portfolio of the trader, whose actions you want to copy. Once you start copying a trader, all their currently opened, as well as future trades, are copied into your account.

With Copy Trading, you invest a certain sum of your choosing with a typical ceiling of 20% of your portfolio. The sum you invest then becomes a percentage of the trader’s portfolio.

Example: if you invest $200 into copying a trader, and the trader’s portfolio is worth $2,000, your investment is 10% of his portfolio. If he then opens a trade for $200, you will copy this trade, but the money that will be invested from your account is $20 (because that’s 10% of the sum that he invested).

How does the trader that’s being copied make money? Via so-called copy commissions that he gets from each and every one of his followers. He basically gets to harness his knowledge and experience for an extra passive income. Fair, isn’t it?

Copy Trading Benefits

First and foremost, manual trading can be intimidating for newbies. Once charts and patterns come into play – it is a whole new world, which leaves many paralyzed. Indeed, there is a lot to learn, and risking your investment when you don’t know what you are doing adds some psychological pressure. In turn, Copy Trading does not require much trading knowledge. Traders can observe and learn by watching what experienced traders do, as well as draw inspiration from other people’s successes and failures. Additionally, it is a way to save time when starting to trade, as well as a way to diversify your investment. Copying different signals of different traders with different styles can not only help one check out different asset classes, but also help understand which trading style one will be willing to adopt in the future.

Copy Trading Risks

Like everything in the trading arena, copy trading isn’t all rainbows and butterflies, it comes with its own share of risk. Every year, regulators expose a variety of copy signal provider group scams, where untrustworthy traders fish out money from unsuspecting copiers under false pretenses. And even if we don’t consider scam, choosing the right copy strategy provider is a challenge. First and foremost, no trader can entirely avoid market downfalls. Even though you may have analyzed the winnings and charts of the trader to copy, there is still no guarantee that his strategy will last. Then there are the increased costs due to the commission fees paid, as well as the reliance on someone else’s expertise, instead of your own. While to some copy trading has proven a golden learning opportunity, others claim that nothing beats a hands-on figure-it-out-yourself approach.

About Cerus Markets

Established in 2022, Cerus Markets is authorized and regulated by the Labuan Financial Service Authority, Malaysia. With a focus on innovation, Cerus offers a unique crypto derivative product that allows clients to trade over 200 instruments paired with cryptocurrencies. Alongside crypto derivatives, Cerus also provides trading opportunities in Forex, Commodities, Indices, Single Stocks and Crypto.

We believe in empowering traders of all levels with easy and affordable access to the market. Our trading platform stands out from traditional brokers by not charging entry fees, various deposit methods and a wide range of digital assets starting from just $50 and leverage up to 400:1.

Moreover, traders can benefit from a 100% Deposit matching bonus, doubling the amount of their first deposit and further enhancing their trading experience.

Click here to create your account and start trading today!

If someone told you that there is a bakery where you get “dough” but no physical delivery, you would probably say WHAT! However, with CFDs, you might be able to make some dough without taking physical delivery of the underlying asset.

But, you have got to be careful, as CFDs can make profits disappear faster than a rabbit in a hat! You must be wondering how random all of this is.

Don’t worry, we won’t do any magic tricks nor feed you any dough. Rather, we will talk about what a CFD is, how you can trade it, and hopefully make some “dough” in the process.

Besides making profits, we will also discuss the risk factor of CFDs and talk about some of the ways you may want to manage the risk of trading CFDs. We will discuss some strategies that could be used when trading a CFD and how you can go about selecting which market to trade CFDs in.

Sounds good? Then let’s dive right in.

What Exactly Is A CFD?

CFD stands for contract for difference. It is a trading instrument that allows a trader to trade an underlying asset without actually taking (or giving) delivery of that asset. 

CFDs are cash-settled and the trader earns a profit or loss of the difference in the trade-opening and trade-closing price. Besides the price-settlement factor, the major benefit of trading CFDs is leverage.

CFDs are leveraged instruments which means that a trader can take a position worth a large amount by paying a fraction as a margin. Depending on the leverage ratio offered to the trader, a trader can put up as little as 5% or 3% of the money needed to take a trading position.

For example, if a trader wants to buy 1,000 shares of Nvidia shares priced at $400, the trader would have to pay $400,000. However, if an Nvidia CFD is available with a leverage ratio of 10:1, the trader only has to put up $40,000 to take a position worth $400,000.

You might wonder how this can boost returns. If Nvidia goes from $400 to $440 (a 10% move), The value of the trader’s position goes from $400,000 to $440,000. It is a profit of $40,000 on a capital of $40,000.

But, consider what happens if the price falls by 10%. The value of the position goes down to $360,000 and the entire $40,000 put up by the trader is lost. So, leverage is a double-edged sword that needs to be handled carefully.

Selecting The Right Market For Trading CFDs

Now that you know how extreme CFD trading can be, one very important question to answer is which market to trade CFDs in. Our suggestion is to pick the market that you best understand.

If you are good at following the US markets and understanding the actions of the Federal Reserve, then it makes sense to trade an S&P 500 CFD or a Dow Jones index CFD. If you closely track a company, say Apple or Amazon, then you may want to trade an Apple or Amazon CFD.

The idea is to pick a market that you understand and about which there is plenty of information freely available to you. It is through this information that you will update your knowledge about the market. If you don’t have access to or are not aware of the nuances of the South African stock market (for example), then you probably should not trade a South African index or stock CFD.

You also may want to consider the volatility of a specific market. Is that level of volatility compatible with your style of trading and your psychology? Are you someone who relishes high volatility or do wild price moves make you fearful?

Lastly, you may want to analyze the liquidity of the market or asset that you wish to trade. Wanting to close a trade but not being able to do so due to a lack of buyers/sellers or putting up with a high bid-ask spread can erode significant returns or even cause losses. Being able to enter and exit trades without high impact costs is important for any trader.

Some Basic Trading Strategies For CFDs

Conceptualizing strategies to trade CFDs is similar to conceptualizing strategies to trade stocks or indices or commodities. You can try looking at your preferred technical indicators like the moving average.

For example, if the 20-day moving average crosses over the 50-day moving average, you may consider going long or buying CFDs. If the price falls below the 200-day moving average or if a shorter-term moving average goes below the longer-term moving average, then you may consider going short or selling CFDs.

You may also study the price action, find important levels, or use indicators like the Fibonacci retracement. When the price gives you a signal at an area of value, you may consider going long or short as your analysis may indicate.

You could also backtest the price data of certain assets and try to find patterns like what happens on a specific day of the week if the previous day was up or down. If you can find any pattern or behavior, you may try to trade that with CFDs.

Final Words

Any kind of trading comes with risk. In order to manage such risk, you may want to think about your stop loss levels and position sizing. You may also want to know what your risk-reward ratio is for each trade and what the maximum amount is that you are willing to lose.

Once you know your maximum loss tolerance, you can work out the number of CFDs that will keep your possible losses within that limit. Staying on top of the market with alerts is also a useful thing to do.

Cerus Markets specializes in CFDs and covers a variety of markets including stocks, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. If you think you are ready to trade them, then our 100% welcome bonus offer for new sign-ups is a great way to begin.

Crypto derivatives or spot assets, have arguably grown much more popular over the last decade – Especially in the case of digital crypto-derivatives assets.

Derivatives serve as contracts that extract value based on the performance of an underlying asset or variable. In the case of Crypto-derivatives, these two-way currency derivative contracts can be considered risky (as all investments are, to some degree), however, they also naturally serve many beneficial purposes both to the trader and the markets.

Crypto derivatives, typically conducted in US dollars, are a beneficial tool in a portfolio’s risk management, as the trader can use them to hedge against illiquid currencies. They can also help to leverage exposure and ease entry into the market.

With an understanding of the concept of derivatives, which have existed for decades, we can now imagine the traditional two-way currency derivative contracts in a more modern mentality: Financial instruments tied with digital currencies. For example, Tesla (TSLA) and Bitcoin (BTC).

Now we have opened a new door to the world of financial trading. With the emerging digital asset class comes also the discussion of how to store such assets. Some brokers provide proprietary wallets for traders which have proven to be far from secure. 

So, what other options are there? We will discuss and compare the options in this article, giving you further education to make the best decision in your trading activity.

Option 1: Storing Digital Assets in Online Wallets

For digital asset traders, the most common option for storing their assets is the online wallets of the exchanges they use.

While this option could be easy or convenient, there are a lot of risks that go along with it, outside of the trading activity itself.

Before we get into that, let’s first provide more explanation of the differentiation of crypto assets which would be stored in these types of wallets.

Digital assets, for example, Ethereum or Bitcoin, would typically be stored in online wallets offered by an exchange for the primary reason that when purchasing these digital assets, you are actually owning the underlying asset. 

So if you decide to spend $100 on BTC via a typical exchange, you would literally own that $100 portion of the BTC asset. The wallet keys, which are the cryptographic string of characters, are the unique keys that allow you to access your crypto assets, whether you want to trade, send or buy with those funds.

In the case of crypto derivatives, if we refer back to the beginning of the article, this is a currency swap contract; you are not owning the underlying asset, but instead, a derivatives contract based on an agreed price exchange rate.

It is understandable how the novice trader can confuse the two types of asset classes, so it is important to explain the differences.

As mentioned, storing digital assets in an online wallet is certainly convenient, but given the associated risks, it may not be the ideal solution.

First off, storing actual crypto assets within online wallets on exchanges is incredibly risky and should be avoided at all costs. As you may be aware, there have been many cases of hacks and attacks on companies like Binance or FTX, where millions to billions of dollars in crypto assets have been stolen. Given how these assets were stored in the first place, there is no chance of recovery for the original users.

Aside from these threats and vulnerabilities, the lack of maturity of these exchanges and digital assets themselves make regulation and hence protection next to impossible.

Option 2: Storing Digital Assets in Fiat Bank Accounts

Given the nature of derivatives, the trader is never owning the underlying asset of the digital asset trades, as they take the form of contracts.

As with a regulated broker like Cerus Markets, all of a trader’s ongoing contracts and profits within the account are secured in segregated fiat bank accounts with reputable US banks, giving further protection and security.

Traditional fiat banks may be frowned upon by the crypto culture, however, in the case of short-term traded derivatives, this is absolutely the most secure way to trade using cryptocurrency against traditional instruments like stocks.

Additionally, it is important to point out that some crypto exchanges are not regulated, posing possibly the biggest risk to a trader’s activity. Without a governing regulatory body, there is simply no protection of funds if accounts are subject to hacking.

Most if not all regulated brokers provide some level of account protection or insurance, all dependent on the regulating body. Cerus Markets, for example, is regulated by Labuan FSA, which is under the Ministry of Finance in Malaysia. With their stringent regulations, it is next to impossible for traders to lose their funds with any activity breaches.

Final Thoughts

While it should be understood that owning the actual crypto assets is a completely different scenario in comparison to trading crypto derivatives, the most important point to note is the differences between the two options in terms of security.

The most important aspect of investing, trading or any given financial activity is arguably risk management, meaning this aspect should be your first consideration before you embark on any kind of trading or investing activity.

Risk management includes many aspects, such as loss tolerance, trading strategy, and overall money management, but above all of these points, it is generally recommended to always first register with a broker which is regulated. This step alone can prevent many risks upfront, with others being dependent on an individual basis.

If you’ve yet to register with a regulated broker, you may consider Cerus Markets, which is both regulated and also secures funds via segregated US-based bank accounts. Trading with Cerus Markets allows the trader to gain exposure to the growing cryptocurrency and trading market, with the option to tie crypto derivatives to traditional instruments via various digital assets. 

As we like to say at Cerus Markets, there is always a bull market somewhere. Start your own secure trading journey with us today. 

Rumor has it that the USD invited the CAD to a party. It did so because CAD would bring maple syrup to sweeten the exchange rate.

Yes, when we say maple syrup, we are talking about Canada and a capitalist country like the US always likes a good exchange rate.

The US dollar is something that most (probably all) forex traders have traded at some point in their careers.

The USD/CAD pair is one of the most traded currency pairs in the world. While Canada may not be a huge country, the significance of the Canadian economy is substantial and the Canadian dollar is the sixth-most held reserve currency.

An interesting fact about the Canadian dollar, it is nicknamed the “loonie” because of a loon that appears on the back of a CAD 1 coin. If you are wondering what a loon is, it is a bird native to Canada.

Anyways, we won’t talk about Canada or the loon in this article. Rather, we will discuss how to trade USD vs CAD. We will cover the current positioning of the US and Canadian economies.

Next, we will look at some trading strategies that could be employed to trade USD vs CAD. Finally, we will say a few words about managing risk when trading the USD-CAD pair.

All set? Let’s go!

How To Trade USD vs CAD Or Any Currency Pair

Trading a forex pair can be exciting, nerve-racking, and everything that one can imagine. If you think that currencies don’t move as much as stocks, then you will be surprised. 

When currencies move, they can create news. When a trader takes a forex trade, it is always buying or selling one currency to receive or give another currency. So, forex trading happens in pairs.

You don’t just buy the USD or the CAD. You buy the USD by paying for it in some other currency. So, if you are buying USD with some CAD, you are essentially going long USD vs CAD.

You are buying the base currency, the USD, with the quote currency, the CAD. If the forex pair was a ratio, the base currency is the numerator (USD) and the quote currency is the denominator (CAD).

Assume that you buy some US dollars by paying in Canadian dollars. If the USD then strengthens vs the CAD, you can sell your US dollars to receive more Canadian dollars than what you paid to buy the US dollars. Profit cha-ching!

However, if the USD weakens vs the CAD, and you go out to sell those US dollars, you will get fewer Canadian dollars than what you paid initially to buy the US dollars. You incur a loss!

Price movements in forex markets are expressed in a unit called a pip. One pip is 0.0001 points or 1/100th of a percent. The USD/CAD exchange rate could move a few pips or many pips depending on the conditions.

The Current Economic Environment

Let’s talk about Canada first. The story here is similar to most other parts of the world. The fight is against inflation and the policy rate has been hiked by the central bank to 4.5%. That is the highest rate since the financial crisis of 2008.

The economy has been in good shape as the labor market is strong and rate hikes are now expected to be paused. Canada’s main sectors are real estate and commodities. 

The housing market was very strong in the pandemic years and heavy borrowing was witnessed. So, interest rates will play an important role.

Canada’s commodity exports depend a lot on the global economy as well as inflation. A positive environment for these two sectors could bode well for the Canadian dollar.

The actions of the US Fed significantly influence the trajectory of the US dollar. Additionally, geopolitical developments may also impact the dollar’s status in the longer term.

The recent quantitative tightening by the Fed may have led to fears of liquidity risks in the banking system. So, interest rate hikes might see a pause in the US. 

The US has not seen a recession yet and the labor market continues to remain strong. Payroll data is also positive while inflation still hasn’t dropped to the levels targeted by the Fed.

Trading Strategies For The USD vs CAD

Traders can first figure out whether the USD/CAD currency pair is in an uptrend, downtrend, or sideways movement. One easy way to do this analysis is through the rate of change indicator.

If the ROC indicator demonstrates consistently positive readings, then the pair is in an uptrend. If the ROC shows a consistently negative reading, then the trend is down.

If the trend is up, the long trades are worth exploring. If the trend is down, the short positions come into play.

Long trades can be executed by simply using a moving average and staying long till the price drops over the moving average. Crossovers can also be used to generate trading signals.

The same thing can be done on the short trades. Traders could stay in the trade till the price moves above a moving average or if there is a crossover of a short-term average above the longer-term one.

Swing traders can use RSI or Bollinger bands to go short and long whenever the price seems too stretched either on the overbought side or the oversold side.

The whole idea of following a trading system is seeing what works, and what system has an edge, and then following the rules of that system diligently without getting distracted. Discipline is what makes money in the long run.

Handling Losses And Risk Management

No trade is a 100% guarantee of profits. Every trade has its associated risk. The idea is to be able to handle such risks and limit losses so that your trading capital doesn’t get wiped out.

You can do that by not overtrading and keeping your position sizes limited to the maximum loss that you can handle if things don’t go your way.

You can also ensure that your system gets executed by putting stop losses and limit orders wherever necessary.

The idea is to use every tool available to ensure that you execute your trading system and limit your losses when the market does not go your way. Maximizing profits and minimizing losses is what will likely give you an edge in your trading.

Not having any risk management plan is, perhaps, the riskiest way one could trade.

Conclusion

We hope that you now have a basic understanding of how to trade USD vs CAD. We also hope that you know the importance of risk management in trading currencies.

If you are ready to test your forex strategies and start trading USD vs CAD, then opening a new account with Cerus Markets would be a starting point. We can make that first step even better for you with a 100% welcome bonus offer.