Instruments
Forex pairs can be traded on every GFN programme, at leverage up to 1:50 and $7 per lot round turn. The rules that bite hardest are the funded-account news window around releases such as payrolls, the 2 minutes minimum hold, and the daily loss limit - 3% on Instant, 5% on the others.
What GFN offers
GFN's answer is an unqualified yes: forex can be traded wherever forex instruments are available through your GFN account. It is the core instrument class on every programme.
Source: Can I trade Forex? The live instrument list and each instrument’s specification belong to your account.
The ceiling on every programme. Individual pairs can carry less.
$3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn, charged on the simulated account.
Every trade, every programme, evaluation and funded stages.
Instant / 1 Step / 2 Step. The same figure whatever you trade.
Login details issued on purchase.
The rules that bite
The limits are the same on every instrument. What changes is which of them an instrument reaches first.
News trading is permitted during evaluations. On a simulated funded account, profits from trades opened or closed within 3 minutes before or after a relevant high-impact release may be removed. Instant starts at the funded stage, so the funded rule applies from day one.
The rule in full →Every trade must stay open for at least 2 minutes, on all three programmes and in both the evaluation and funded stages. It rules out the shortest forex scalps outright, and commission at $7 per lot round turn has to be cleared on every one that remains.
The rule in full →A pair moving against an open position uses the daily allowance before anything is closed - $3,000 on a $100,000 Instant account, $5,000 on the 1 Step and 2 Step. Spread and commission come out of the same allowance.
The rule in full →Overnight and weekend holding are permitted where the account type and the underlying market allow. Weekend gaps, spread changes and market closures remain the trader's risk, and a gap can trigger a drawdown breach. Financing on a pair held for days reduces equity like any other cost.
The rule in full →Programme
Daily loss limit
Max drawdown
Instant
3% ($3,000 on $100,000)
5%, trailing
1 Step
5% ($5,000 on $100,000)
8%, trailing, locks at starting balance
2 Step
5% ($5,000 on $100,000)
8%, non-trailing
Sessions and hours
Forex trades through the week across the Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York sessions. Hours on your account follow the instrument and its liquidity, so check the instrument information rather than assuming a schedule.
The hours when both sessions are open carry the most volume and the tightest spreads of the day - and most of the scheduled US data, so they also carry the news window.
Late in the New York afternoon and around the Sunday reopen, spreads widen and fills get less predictable. The daily loss limit is the same figure at every hour.
Risk considerations
Payrolls, inflation data and rate decisions move pairs further in seconds than in the rest of the session, with the widest spreads of the day. Slippage does not excuse a breach.
Several dollar pairs held at once are frequently one position in disguise. A single dollar move hits all of them against the same daily allowance.
At $7 per lot round turn, twenty round turns a day at one standard lot is $140 of cost to clear before any result counts.
Worked example
A $100,000 1 Step account, a pair worth about $10 per pip per standard lot, and 0.5% risk per trade.
5% of $100,000.
One tenth of the daily allowance.
Set by the setup, not by the size you want.
$500 / (25 pips x $10). Round turn cost $14.
Ten such losses in a row reach the 5% limit. On Instant, with 3%, it is six.
Can I trade Forex?
Yes, where Forex instruments are available through your GFN trading platform.
Can I trade during news events?
News trading rules can vary by program or account stage - always check the rules attached to your specific account before trading around major announcements.
What happens if spreads widen during news?
Spread widening, slippage and rapid price movements form part of market conditions.
Is there a minimum trade duration?
Yes. Every trade must stay open for at least 2 minutes, on Instant Funding, 1 Step and 2 Step.
Can I scalp?
Legitimate short-term trading is permitted, provided every trade stays open for at least 2 minutes and nothing exploits latency, pricing errors or other prohibited behaviour.
Can I hold trades overnight?
Where permitted by your specific account rules and where the underlying market remains available, yes.
Forex
The market for exchanging one currency for another, traded as pairs. It runs 24 hours from Sunday evening to Friday evening and is the deepest market by volume, which is why spreads on major pairs are so tight.
Major pairs
The most traded currency pairs, all quoted against the US dollar: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD and AUD/USD. They carry the tightest spreads and the deepest liquidity, which makes them the cheapest pairs to trade frequently.
Minor pairs
Pairs between major currencies that do not include the US dollar - EUR/GBP, GBP/JPY, EUR/AUD and similar. Spreads are wider than on the majors and daily ranges are often larger, so the same strategy costs more to run.
Exotic pairs
Pairs matching a major currency with a smaller or emerging-market one - USD/TRY, USD/ZAR, USD/MXN and similar. Spreads are wide, moves are large, swap charges are heavy and liquidity can disappear with very little warning.
Pip
The standard unit of price movement in forex - 0.0001 for most pairs, 0.01 for yen pairs. A pipette is one tenth of a pip, which is why most quotes carry a fifth or third decimal place.
Lot
The unit position size is measured in. One standard forex lot is 100,000 units of the base currency; mini and micro lots are one tenth and one hundredth of that.
Spread
The gap between the bid and the ask price. It is the cost paid on entry: a position opens slightly underwater by the width of the spread before the market has moved at all.
Swap
The financing charge or credit applied to a position held past the daily rollover. It reflects the interest rate difference between the two sides of the pair and can be positive or negative.
Session overlap
The hours when two trading sessions are open at once. The London-New York overlap, roughly 13:00 to 16:30 UK time, carries the highest volume and the tightest spreads of the day.
Non-farm payrolls
The monthly US employment report, released on the first Friday of the month at 08:30 Eastern. It is the single most disruptive scheduled release for dollar pairs, gold and US index instruments.
Gold and metals
Gold and metals on a simulated GFN account: leverage up to 1:50, $7 per lot round turn, and the rules that bite hardest on XAUUSD.
Indices
Indices on a simulated GFN account, where available: session hours, leverage up to 1:50, and the market-open and news rules.
Commodities and oil
Oil and other commodities on a simulated GFN account, where available: leverage up to 1:50, $7 per lot round turn, gap and news rules.
Crypto
Crypto CFDs on a simulated GFN account, where offered: hours and leverage that differ, $7 per lot round turn, and how to size for volatility.
Ready when you are
One evaluation fee, no time limits and up to 90% of simulated profits. Pick an account size and your credentials arrive by email within minutes.
No subscriptions or hidden fees
Payouts every 14 days
$400,000 max total allocation