Buy it first and hope it climbs:going long, for rising times.
Buying a currency pair with the expectation that its value will rise.
When you go long on EUR/USD, you are buying euros and selling US dollars.
In plain words
Going long means buying first in the hope of selling later at a higher price. In a currency pair, going long means buying the first currency of the pair and, in the same trade, selling the second.
See it move
Reached: Sell
Why it matters
It is one of the two directions every trade can take. A long trade gains when the price rises and loses when it falls, so the direction decides which price moves help and which hurt.
Worked example
An example only. The figures are round and invented for the arithmetic: they are not market prices.
A trader goes long one standard lot of EUR/USD at 1.1000 and later closes at 1.1050.
- 1Move1.1050 − 1.1000 = 0.0050, which is 50 pips
- 2One pip on one standard lot is worth 10 US dollars
- 3Result50 × 10 = 500 US dollars
The trade gains 500 US dollars before costs; a fall of 50 pips would have lost the same amount.
A common mistake
“Long” does not mean holding for a long time. It describes the direction of the trade, and a long trade can last seconds or months.
Check yourself
Educational information, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade.