Trade Forex Trading

How Do I Calculate Leverage in 1:50 and 1:100 - Leverage in Forex 1 50 and 1 100

How Leverage Increases Forex Trading Profits & Loses?

If you have a 1,000 dollar account with leverage 100:1 you can buy a maximum of 1 lot which is equivalent to $100,000 dollars contract(1 Standard lot).

If you have a 1,000 dollar account with leverage 50:1 you can buy a maximum of 0.5 lots which is equivalent to 50,000 dollars contract (0.5 Standard lots).

Let us calculate profits & losses based on two examples of used leverage, based on $1,000 account:

NB: This is the Leverage used not the Maximum leverage, If a broker gives you 100:1, But if you trade 0.5 contracts then the leverage you will use is 50:1 which is not equal to Maximum leverage(100:1).

So the example referred in this below is talking of the leverage used based on the volume of the trade that you have opened.


Example 1: (50:1 Leverage or 0.5 Lots)

For 1 lot 1 pip equals $ 10

If you make a profit of 100 pips the calculation of profit in dollars is:

0.5 lots

1 pip = $5

100 pips = 100 * 0.5 = $500

Total= balance + profit

= 1000+ 500

= $1,500 you have just made 50% profit on your account balance

If you make a loss of 20 pips the loss in dollars is

0.5 lots

1 pip = $5

20 pips = 20 * 5 = $100

Total= account balance - loss

Total= 1000 - 100

Total = $ 900 you have just lost 10% of your trading account balance


Example 2: ( 100:1 Leverage )

For 1 lot 1 pip equals $ 10

If you make a profit of 100 pips the calculation of profit in dollars is:

1 lot

1 pip = $10

100 pips = 100 * 10 = $1000

Total= balance + profit

= 1000+ 1000

= $2,000 you have just doubled your account balance

If you make a loss of 20 pips the loss in dollars is

1 lot

1 pip = $10

20 pips = 20 * 10 = $200

Total= account balance - loss

Total= 1000 - 200

Total = $ 800 you have just lost 20% of your trading account balance


From the above example you can see that the more leverage you use the greater the profits or losses and less you use the lesser the profit or losses.

It is hence better to use less leverage so that to minimize the risks involved. The higher the leverage used the higher the risk. This is one of the leverage rules not to trade with more than 5:1 leverage.

In leverage rules: It is always advisable to stay below 10:1 which is still high, most professional money managers use 2:1 meaning they trade only two lots for every $100,000 in their trading account.

To Learn More about Leverage and Margin - Read the Topics Below:

Leverage and Margin Described