The forex market is the most valuable market in the world and while a significant amount of the total trade volume is always on the major currency pairs, traders are increasingly looking to alternatives.

An experienced forex trader will always tell the newcomer to start trading the majors so as to minimise risk at the early stage of their forex trading career.

A combination of a sluggish recovery from recession, political upheaval and public sector cuts has affected the strength and solidity of the pound in recent months. The euro has been experiencing its own problems, with sovereign debt and the large disparity in economic productivity between member nations at the core of them.

A succession of negative economic data from the US has wrong-footed many analyst’s expectations and this has brought the prospect of a double-dip recession to centre stage.

Traders across the board have been looking for safe havens to bring steady returns in these difficult times. The continuing strength of the yen against the dollar has provided a welcome retreat for wary forex traders.

One of the reasons the yen is attractive to traders at the moment is because Japanese interest rates are extremely low (close to zero) and investors are taking advantage by borrowing an amount of yen and then using it to buy financial products with a higher interest yield, this is called a carry trade.

Depending on the leverage used, profits can be substantial – any fear of a change in the exchange rate can then be hedged.

Traders are also looking for alternatives beyond the majors. According to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission positions on the Mexican peso, Polish zloty and the Canadian dollar have all increased in volume over the last few months.

To find out more about how to take a position on the world’s forex markets by CFD trading and more about forex pairs, major and minor, visit www.igmarkets.co.uk.