Where can I Trade for Free on the GBP / USD market?
It depends upon what you mean by free. If you're looking for a free Demo Account where you can practice spread trading, see below.
Tax Free. If you are looking for a free spread betting platform then don't forget that in the UK spread betting is tax free*
You can also spread bet on GBP / USD markets and other Forex markets commission free and with no brokers fees at:
Free Demo Account
If you're looking for a free Practice Account / Test Account where you can trial spread betting, including Forex markets like GBP / USD, then you can you can always try:
Each of the above currently offers a free Demo Account.
How to Spread Trade GBP / USD?
As with many markets, you can spread bet on the value of Forex markets, like the GBP / USD currency pair, going up or down.
At the time of writing the GBP / USD (March) market is 2.0604 - 2.0612 with Financial Spreads. This price expires on 14-Mar-08.
Therefore you can spread bet on GBP / USD settling:
Above 2.0612, or
Below 2.0604
By the market expiry date of 14-Mar-08.
Note that for the GBP / USD currency pair, you trade in £X per pip, where a pip is 0.0001 units of GBP / USD movement. For example, if your stake was £6 per pip and the GBP / USD moves 0.0007 points (7 pips) then that would be a £42 difference to your profits.
GBP / USD Financial Spread Betting Example
Let's say, you think that Sterling is holding it’s own against the Dollar and the Dollar is looking a little weak. Therefore taking the above spread of 2.0604 - 2.0612 you think that the GBP / USD cross rate will close above 2.0612 by 14-Mar-08.
Therefore you buy at 2.0612 for a stake of £2 per pip.
If by the settlement date the market closes 2.0682, then:
Your profit is worked out by taking the difference between the closing level of 2.0682 and the price you bought the spread at, ie 2.0612, and then multiplying that by the stake per pip.
Profit and loss = ((2.0682 - 2.0612) / 0.0001) x £2 per pip stake.
Profit and loss = (0.0070 / 0.0001) x £2 per pip stake.
Profit and loss = 70 pips x £2 per pip stake.
Profit and loss = £140 profit.
But if the market did not move as expected and had Dollar strengthened then the GBP / USD cross rate could have finished lower at 2.0554. If so, would have made a loss on this spread bet.
Loss = ((2.0554 - 2.0612) / 0.0001) x £2 per pip stake.
Loss = (-0.0058 / 0.0001) x £2 per pip stake.
Loss = -58 pips x £2 per pip stake.
= -£116 loss.
(Note: FX spread prices quoted as of 14-Nov-07).
Where can I Find Free Live Prices on GBP / USD?
If you want to access quick live market information then you could do worse than opening an account with a firm like Financial Spreads.
Also, you don't have to trade with them, if you just open an account (which is free to do) then their data is free. The catch? You'll get the odd email or letter from them. In the example below you can also see that their free charts are also useful.
As mentioned above, you can get free charts with spread betting companies like Financial Spreads.
You can alter the charts to see market data by the minute, by the hour, by the week etc, plus many other settings to help you analyse the charts.
As you can see, the charts show how the market's are not perfect and how you can expect the prices to "gap".
FinancialSpreads.com also have another pretty handy tool in their free Demo account (mentioned above). You can open a Demo account and place demo trades whilst you practice with no risk or cost attached.
Advert:
GBP / USD Spread Betting, sponsored by
FinancialSpreads.com.
Narrow GBP / USD Spreads plus
tax free*, commission free, broker free: Apply for an account.
'GBP / USD Spread Betting' by DB, updated 28-Feb-08
For related pages also see:
Forex Spread Betting, updated 24-Jul-08
Where to find the best Forex Spread Betting value? We compare FX spreads like the GBP-USD and EUR-USD plus the latest Forex spread trading news, where to find free FX charts and...read article. Forex Trading, updated 20-Jun-08
Compare Forex spreads. Compare EUR / GBP / USD / YEN spreads. The latest forex trading news, where to find free Forex charts and...read article. Spread Trading FX, updated 02-Jun-08
Your guide to FX spread trading, regular forex articles, spreads comparison tables and your questions answered, where to find free FX trading, free FX charts, live prices and more...read article. GBP / JPY Spread Betting, updated 28-Feb-08
GBP/ JPY trading information, where to find free GBP / JPY charts and prices, how to spread bet on Forex, including the GBP/ JPY...read article. EUR / JPY Spread Betting, updated 28-Feb-08
EUR / JPY trading information, where to find free EUR / JPY charts and prices, how to spread bet on Forex, including the EUR / JPY...read article. GBP / USD Spread Betting, updated 28-Feb-08
GBP / USD trading information, where to find free GBP / USD charts and prices, how to spread bet on Forex, including the GBP / USD...read article. USD / JPY Spread Betting, updated 28-Feb-08
USD / JPY trading information, where to find free USD / JPY charts and prices, how to spread bet on Forex, including the USD / JPY...read article. EUR / USD Spread Betting, updated 29-Feb-08
If the Euro is pushing ever higher against the Dollar and the Pound that poses a few questions. Who offers narrow FX spreads? How to trade the Euro FX markets? Where to find live Euro prices and charts? We've got the answers...read article. EUR / GBP Spread Betting, updated 28-Feb-08
EUR / GBP trading information, where to find free EUR / GBP charts and prices, how to spread bet on Forex, including the EUR / GBP...read article. Forex Trading April 2008, updated 25-Apr-08
Forex market update: Looking at the Forex Spread Betting markets the Pound actually managed a good day for a change as the Euro and Yen suffered. Of course the real winner was the US Dollar. Cable is now at the bottom of it recent range with dealers probing for any weakness below...read article. Forex Spread Bets April 2008, updated 11-Apr-08
Forex market trading update: The dollar is getting a knock this morning weaker against the majority of other currencies. Sterling attempted to make some sort of recovery against the euro yesterday dipping below the £0.8000 mark. However, since...read article. Forex March Spread Trading, updated 28-Mar-08
Forex markets: On the FX markets the Dollar continues to hold it own for the time being but the pound seems to have hit something of a brick wall overnight. All the majors are unchanged except for the pound which is down 80 pips against the greenback (under $2 again)...and is at a new all time low versus the Euro at £0.7894 which means that we are now over 15%...read article. Forex March Spread Betting, updated 14-Mar-08
Forex market information: Looking at the Forex markets the added dollar liquidity push had a curious effect in that the greenback actually rallied yesterday afternoon when many would have expected the opposite. There may be a feeling that the Fed may...read article. Forex February Spread Trading, updated 29-Feb-08
Forex market information: Against the Dollar, Sterling has given up 200 pips from the highs of yesterday (oddly enough the same highs as the last rally in late January) and is now back down at $1.9770 - $1.9773. The resistance at $1.9750 which acted to hold back the...read article. Real-time Forex Prices and Charts, updated 15-Feb-08
Forex pricing information: On the currency trading front we are very quiet and with no news expected today it may well remain that way for the early trading session. GBP / USD looks to be quite happy at levels near to $1.9700 but we have made a habit of...read article. UK Forex Spread Trading, updated 01-Feb-08
UK Forex Spread Trading: FX markets are absolutely comatose at the moment and we are trading and re-trading over the same ranges. The pound is pretty much...read article. Spread Betting on Forex, updated 18-Jan-08
Your FX trading questions answered, tips on getting free Forex charts, real time prices plus free...read article. Forex Trading Online, updated 21-Dec-07
Find out where you can Trade FX Online for free plus your FX trading questions answered, tips on getting free FX charts, real time prices and...read article. Forex Futures Trading, updated 07-Dec-07
Where to trade Forex Futures plus updated Forex trading news and the most popular Forex questions answered....read article. Forex Broker, updated 23-Nov-07
Where to find free Forex Brokers plus regular Forex financial trading news as well as the most popular Forex questions answered....read article. Forex Platform, updated 09-Nov-07
Where to find free Forex Platforms plus updated Forex trading news as well as the most popular Forex queries answered....read article. Forex Software, updated 26-Oct-07
Where to find free Forex Software information plus updated Forex trading news as well as the most popular Forex queries answered....read article. Forex Prices, updated 04-Feb-08
Where to find free Forex Prices plus updated Forex news as well as your top Forex questions answered....read article. Spread Bet on Sterling / Yen (Sept) - FX Online Spread Betting, updated 16-Aug-07
The Yen has profited from the current state of the markets. Investors continue to reduce their risk and have been pulling out of the 'Carry Trade' market. The NZ Dollar has fallen nearly 14.5% and the Aus Dollar 10% again the Yen. Sterling has also seen falls against the Yen. The heavy forex trading...read article. Financial Spread Betting Blog - FX Trading, updated 13-Aug-07
The popular Forex market of EUR/USD has been decreasing and is at its lowest value for a month. Is it worth backing the market to return? At the moment the EUR / USD (Sept) market has a quote of 1.3631 - 1.3639. As with many markets...read article. Spread Bet on Forex, updated 16-Jul-07
When you Spread Bet on Forex you are betting on a market with high liquidity. There are a large number of trades in key markets such as £/$. A FX market trading is often available 24hrs a day....read article. FX Spread Betting, updated 20-Sep-07
The Dollar dropped to a record low of $1.40 against the Euro after the pressure on the US currency increased with the new cut in US interest rates. Many felt that the $1.40 was a psychologically important barrier and breaching that could put further pressure on the Dollar. However it looks like the spread betting companies don't think that will happen. The EUR / US Dollar December market is currently trading at 1.4055 to 1.4063 with FinancialSpreads.com...read article. Spread Betting on FX, updated 11-Feb-08
Online forex spread betting news and free live prices. In the Forex markets GBP v USD fell to a 14 month low and is trading below the $2 mark to around $1.9945. With Financial Spreads, the Sterling / Dollar (December) market is trading at 1.9971 - 1.9974 suggesting that they don't think there will be a quick recovery....read article. Forex Spread Betting, updated 26-Nov-07
Foreign exchange betting. Currencies fluctuate for a number of reasons eg changes interest rates, speculative trading and central bank intervention. If you are looking for FX trading information ...read article.
Q) Average Trading Results?
A) Get free spread betting tips, offers, price updates, important news and more! All Free - Click here
Risk Warning: Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and you may lose more than your initial investment. It may not be suitable for all investors. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.
* Tax law is subject to change or may differ if you pay tax in a jurisdiction other than the UK.
