The notion of a position

The trading is performed through opening and closing positions (positions). For example, when a transaction EURUSD BUY 1 lot at 0.9500 is executed, $95,000 is borrowed and then converted into 100,000 euro, that is the euros are being bought for the dollars. Therefore, upon completion of the transaction the account will have 100,000 euro and a debt of $95,000. This combination of an asset in one currency and a debt in the other is called a position. All existing (open) positions are listed in the Open Positions table. To extinguish the debt, that is to close the position one must convert the currency in the account into the currency of the debt. In this case, it means converting the 100,000 euro into dollars. If the exchange rate became 0.9510, the conversion will bring $95,100, which will leave "extra" $100 after paying the debt as profit. The combination of opening and closing a position is called a transaction.

The notion of an order

A request to open or close a position is called an order. An order contains all information necessary for opening or closing a position such as the currency name (instrument), direction of the trade (BUY or SELL), and the amount of currency involved (number of lots). An order to close will contain the number of the position and additional conditions of the transaction

The main additional conditions are the order type (to open or to close) and whether the position opening should occur at the currently existing market price, or rather upon reaching a certain level.Order types in more detail.

The additional conditions also include the expiration date and time (field Expires). If the field is filled during the order entry, the order will be automatically cancelled when this time is passed. The expiration time can only be set for Entry (delayed) orders.

As a position is being opened, orders to close it may be entered (Click here to see how to add STOP/LIMIT orders automatically).