The USD Index is a barometer of the general assessment of the US Dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies, in a similar way that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is a picture of the US stock market. It is a leading benchmark for the international value of the US dollar and the world’s most widely traded currency index. Currently the index is calculated by factoring in the exchange rates of six of the major world currencies. The breakdown is as follows: (Euro 57.6%, Japanese Yen 13.6%, British Pound 11.9%, Canadian Dollar 9.1%, Swedish Krona 4.2%, Swiss Franc 3.6%).

The USD Index is a versatile product where traders can take advantage of the moves in the value of the US Dollar relative to a basket of world currencies. It could also be used to hedge a portfolio of assets against the volatility of the dollar.

FOREX - the foreign exchange market or currency market or Forex is the market where one currency is traded for another Forex is acronym of Foreign Exchange.

An overview of the Forex market

The Forex market is a non-stop cash market where currencies of nations are traded, typically via brokers. Foreign currencies are constantly and simultaneously bought and sold across local and global markets and traders' investments increase or decrease in value based upon currency movements. Foreign exchange market conditions can change at any time in response to real-time events.

A contract for difference (or CFD) is a contract between two parties, buyer and seller, stipulating that the seller will pay to the buyer the difference between the current value of an asset and its value at contract time. (If the difference is negative, then the buyer pays instead to the seller.) For example, when applied to equities, such a contract is an equity derivative that allows investors to speculate on share price movements, without the need for ownership of the underlying shares.

CFDs provide investors with the opportunity to take long or short positions. Unlike futures contracts, CFDs have no fixed expiry date or contract size. Trades are conducted on a leveraged basis with margins typically ranging from 1% to 20% of the notional value for CFDs on leading equities.