The currency or foreign exchange (FOREX) market is the largest and fastest growing investment market in the world. Formerly only large investors like banks and professional traders were able to trade this market, but with the advent of the internet, and the improvement of currency trading platforms, retail traders have joined this market in large numbers, and these numbers are rapidly increasing. It has become very easy to open an online trading account with an investment of as little as $ 300.–. The reasons why this market is so attractive are, to name only the most important:1. Trading can be done from any place with access the internet, which includes mobile devices.2. Low initial investment of as little as $ 300.–. Trading is done in various sized lots. While the standard lot is 100,000 units, a mini lot is 10,000 units, and the micro lot is 1,000 units of your base currency.3. Learning to trade in currencies is relatively easy, but expertise, like with any other activity, takes a lot of practice. However, many trading platforms offer a free practice account with virtual money where one can hone one’s skills. It would be wise to practice with “paper money”, or “virtual money” before plunging “into the act”. Most brokers have demo accounts where you can download their trading station and practice in realtime. While this is no guarantee to your success, practicing can give you the confidence to trade with real money. Many books and courses in FOREX trading are available on- and offline, some for free.4. 24-hour trading, except on weekends. However, since trading includes United States, European, and Asian trading sessions, they somewhat overlap, and depending on which currency pairs are being traded, the trading volume will fluctuate from region to region. Trading positions open on Monday 7am, New Zealand time and close 5pm New York time on Friday. During this time, you can enter or exit the market whenever you like, so you can choose your time and place to trade whichever way you like. No matter at what time of the day you trade, there will always be enough buyers and sellers to take the trade. This gives you enough flexibility to plan your trading around your daily routine.5. High liquidity; you retain full control over your capital. The outcomes are predictable. Currency prices generally repeat themselves in predictable cycles making it easy to follow the trends. You can avail yourself of tools like ‘Technical Analysis’ to see these trends and profit from them.6. Transaction costs are very low; You can use high leverage (borrowed money) with a minimum of risk. In other words, your mistakes won’t cost you a fortune. Good brokers won’t charge commissions to trade or maintain an account even if you have a mini account and trade small volumes. On the other side, the earning potential is unlimited. The FOREX market has a daily trading volume of over 1.5 trillion, the largest financial market in the world. It dwarfs the equities market (50 billion daily) and the futures market (30 billion).7. The currency market is highly transparent. This is an advantage in any business or trading environment. It means you can manage risks and execute orders within seconds which allows you to avoid mistakes.The exchange rates of foreign currency pairs float, meaning that they change continually based on many factors determining the rates of exchange between foreign currency pairs. All FOREX trading is done in pairs, i.e. you have to buy one currency and sell another.A pip, or percentage point, generally equals 1/100 of 1% and is the smallest increment of trade. This makes it convenient for retail or novice traders to trade currency in micro lots, because one pip in a micro lot represents only a 10 cents move in the price. Losses are thus made easier to manage if a trade doesn’t produce the intended results, since in a mini lot, one pip up or down equals $1 and that same one pip in a standard lot equals $10. Currencies may move as much as 100 pips or more in a single trading session making the potential losses to the small investor trading in micro or mini lots much less risky.Supply and demand is a major force moving the FOREX market. Increase in demand of a currency will increase its price, and vice versa. Political and economic events also play their roles in determining price movements.Like any other kind of investment, even FOREX trading is not without risks, but with self-discipline, a good system and good money management skills, the risks are small. Unlike with futures and options, where you may lose your shirt in one session, the worst case is that you could lose what is in you account. But this could only happen if you paid scant attention to what you are doing.Since forex is a fast-moving market with up-, down- and sideways movements, it offers a huge advantage over other market. With certain trading strategies that provide compound profits, one can make profits on profits. And the advantage of the time factor in trading foreign currency makes it a very attractive option for any investor, demanding only a small amount of one’s time, since Forex trading requires, on an average, 2 hours a day to earn a fulltime income. Since the Forex market is open practically around the clock, you can trade whenever you have the time and inclination.The advantages and great leverage available in the forex market make it one of the most profitable, time effective and easy to manage investment opportunities.