The economy and FX market of Denmark: general information

Denmark is the southernmost of the Scandinavian countries, bordering Sweden in the northeast, Norway in the north, and sharing a common border with Germany in the south. The Danish economy is one of the most highly developed and stable in the European Union. It has a balanced state budget and low inflation.

The modern market economy of the country is characterized by a developed industry, with leading global corporations in the pharmaceutical, shipping, renewable energy industries, and high-tech agriculture that have significant export potential. If we take a closer look at the GDP structure of Denmark, the service sector will give 71%, industry – 26% and agriculture – 3%. The main industrial capacities are concentrated in the western regions of the country, about 60% of the industry’s products are exported. About a quarter of sales volume occupies machine-building products. Danish companies are world leaders in many industries, including wind turbines, refrigeration equipment, wireless telecommunications equipment, hearing aids, electronic products, and many others.

As for agriculture, it employs 5% of the working population. High-tech and intensive agricultural production still provides up to a third of the country’s exports. Denmark dominates the global bacon market, is second in canned meats, fourth in butter, and is well positioned in the cheese and fish markets.

What’s more important is that the country is part of the EU, but not the Eurozone, and has retained its national currency. The country’s government uses a wide range of tools to liberalize trade, stimulate production, and especially ensure a fair distribution of income. Among other notable economic features of the country are: low inflation at the level of 2.4% (one of the lowest in the world), a large balance of payments surplus, strong and high-tech production, as already mentioned, and hydrocarbon reserves. 

Besides, Denmark is actively developing new industries and digital technologies, which allows the population to master new financial instruments and dive into different markets. One of these last mentioned is Forex, which has gained popularity among the Danes due to its accessibility and endless opportunities for earning. 

Forex market regulations in Denmark

Denmark is one of the richest and most developed countries in the world, with an open economy that supports free trade and is characterized by a high level of public services and a fair distribution of income. The foreign exchange market, like all capital markets, is open to Danes and well-regulated.

Together with first-tier European regulators like FCA or CySEC, the country has a local regulatory body, Finanstilsynet (Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, or FSA), to which mortgage structures, pension funds, stock brokers, banks, and the securities market are accountable.

Danes can access the Forex market and legally trade various instruments provided by international Forex brokers: following EU law, Forex brokers regulated in another European Economic Area jurisdiction may offer their services to traders based in Denmark. Moreover, Danes can freely trade with international brokers that have other reputable licenses from top global regulators such as IIROC, ASIC, and MAS. 

As we can see, the Danish Forex market is well-regulated and offers a wide range of licensed brokers to choose from. An increasing number of novice traders are trying their hand in this field, therefore, Social Trading is a feature worth mentioning. Professional traders’ deals can be copied by new market players who may lack the advanced skills or simply time for full-time Forex trading. And, over time, individuals either learn enough expertise to become specialists themselves, or they continue to Copy trade and earn passive revenue when their Strategy providers execute profitable deals.

Popular trading instruments in Denmark

Denmark is a very digital and technologically advanced country, so the Danes love innovations and fast and convenient online trading such as the Forex market. Since the country has always demonstrated a very high level of stability, and most importantly, sustainable growth, and the Danish government, in turn, provided an opportunity for international brokers to legally operate and accept clients, this allowed the Danes to have a huge selection of financial instruments. 

Currency pairs trading in Denmark

The national currency of Denmark is the Danish krone, freely convertible and traded on the Forex market. In the international financial market, the abbreviation DKK is used to denote the Danish krone. The most traded krone currency pairs are USD/DKK and EUR/DKK. One of the advantages of these pairs is a fairly high volatility, which allows you to make good money on the difference in rates. Danish traders also have access to different major pairs, which have the highest and most significant indicators in terms of liquidity, frequency of use, total trading volumes, and turnover in the global currency arena: USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD. In addition to majors, there is a wide choice of minor and exotic pairs, the liquidity of which may be lower, but at the same time the spread is much higher and floating, which will allow you to earn in the short term. 

Plus500 is undoubtedly a good choice for CFD trading of currency pairs in Denmark, and if you look more broadly, many other CFD markets, including commodities, stocks, indices, and Crypto (subject to availability). For maximum convenience, traders can open two types of accounts, the first is a real one, and the second is a demo. The latter can help you take your trading skills to the next level before opening a real Plus500 account. As for the trading terminal, it was developed by the company itself, but of course, they didn’t forget about the mobile app for iOS and Android to stay up to date 24/7.

Plus500 and its subsidiaries are authorized and regulated in different jurisdictions around the world. For example,  Plus500CY is authorized and regulated by CySEC and other regulators which bring the company to the international market.

CFD trading in Denmark

An alternative to actually purchasing any asset is to trade them with CFDs. A trader can buy a CFD on a particular stock by speculating on the difference in the price of the underlying asset, without having to own it. There is an option to open long or short positions. Danish traders can trade CFDs on the mentioned OMXC 20 index as well as stocks, currencies, Cryptos, and commodities. 

eToro also provides excellent conditions for CFD trading in particular, but also for many other financial instruments, namely fixed spreads, no hidden fees, as well as the Copy Trading tool. Clients can work on the broker’s own trading platform, which is available in two versions: in a personal account, as well as in the eToro app for Android and iOS, which completely repeats all the functions of a personal account. Here you can deposit and withdraw funds, trade, and candlestick charts, as well as copy trades, and communicate with other participants.

In terms of regulatory oversight, eToro is licensed by the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC. In the over 15 years that the broker has been on the market, it has managed to establish itself in the online trading community as one of the most trustworthy brokers in the industry.

Commodities trading in Denmark

Although Denmark has in recent years given preference to renewable energy resources, the country nevertheless exports a large amount of oil and natural gas. In addition to energy resources, Denmark sells metal structures, electrical spare parts and chemical raw materials for medicines. For many Danish traders, commodity purchase is the preferred way to protect funds and reduce the overall risk to their portfolios. Fortunately, Forex provides great opportunities and favorable conditions in trading a variety of commodities without the need to physically deliver or receive them, all you have to do is open an account with the broker and start trading.

HF Markets is an excellent intermediary in commodity trading, in particular Forex gold trading, since the leverage is quite flexible in favor of clients and transaction costs are as minimal as possible. In addition to commodities, you can also find many other assets covering popular ones such as currency pairs, stocks, CFDs, Cryptocurrencies and more, which can be traded on several account types including Zero Spread, with more than 500 orders possible to be opened simultaneously. And for beginners, it is also worth mentioning the Copy Trading function in order to learn new strategies and earn money at the same time without wasting time.

HF Markets is regulated by CySEC and the FCA (Europe), the FSCA (South Africa), and the DIFC (Dubai), and FSA, according to which the broker has the right to provide investment services around the world.

Platforms for work are the well-known MT4 and MT5. Both of them are available on desktop, web, and mobile versions for Windows, iOS, MacOS, and Android, allowing you to access deals anywhere and anytime.

Stock trading in Denmark

Denmark’s main stock exchange is the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, officially called Nasdaq Copenhagen. The exchange lists 156 companies with a market capitalization of DKK 2,900 billion, as well as bonds and derivatives. Listed companies include significant and actively traded Danish companies such as Danske Bank, The Carlsberg Group, Maersk, Novo Nordisk, and The TDC Group. Traders who want to gain access to Denmark stocks can get into an agreement with an international broker. Basically, they differ in terms of commissions, leverage, special features, and the list of available instruments. By applying all the evaluation criteria, we have provided you with the best brokerage companies in Denmark.

NAGA Markets is distinguished not only by a wide selection of both stocks and various instruments but also by its social trading feature with the ability to copy transactions, share strategies, and communicate with other traders.  

The company allows you to open quite a few account types of with minimal spreads, signals and access to webinars, and the work itself can be done through the MetaTrader of both versions (4 and 5) and the author’s platform NAGA Webtrader Terminals, with access to a mobile app for iOS and Android.

All over the world, and in particular, in Denmark, NAGA is favored as it complies with local laws and is controlled by such regulators as FCA, CySEC, MiFID II, and MiFIR, so that his clients don’t have to worry about their finances.

Indices trading in Denmark

Instead of trading individual stocks, you can choose such a popular instrument as an index. The OMX Copenhagen 20 Index (OMXC 20) is a key indicator of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, part of the NASDAQ OMX Group. The structure of the index is remarkable: it includes only one bank and one insurance company. But the positions of medical goods are strong – five companies at once. An important component of OMXC20 is A.P. Møller-Mærsk is the world’s largest container carrier with branches in 140 countries, as well as the jewelry company Pandora. Working with OMX Copenhagen 20 can be considered a good and smart investment.

XM Group is a broker with which you will be pleasantly surprised by the choice of indies, as the company has more than 14 in stock, including the most famous ones such as the S&P 500 to regional ones like IT40Cash. Of course, the broker’s offer is not limited to indies, its instruments cover CFDs, commodities, indices, precious metals, energies, stocks and currency pairs. 

Deals are conducted on different types of accounts with the advantage of negative balance protection, as well as tight spreads: Micro, Standard, XM Ultra Low, Shares. And for novice traders who are so important to try trading without losing money, the broker provides a demo account that exactly repeats all the functions of real ones. 

Among other advantages of the broker, one can also highlight the fact that work on the MT4 and MT5 platforms is carried out not only in the desktop version but also in the mobile app. In addition, the presence of the VPS service provides traders with uninterrupted work. The broker has an excellent regulatory framework, you just need to look at what kind of licenses the company has (namely from BaFin, AFM, FIN, ASIC, CySEC, IFSC to DFSA) to ensure traders’ security.

Cryptocurrency trading in Denmark

Denmark is on the list of cryptocurrency-friendly countries: a large number of Cryptocurrency exchanges operate there, and trading of virtual currency isn’t prohibited. The Danish authorities allow the use of Bitcoin and altcoins as payment instruments, assets, or commodities, so regulation of virtual currency in Denmark directly depends on the format of the transaction and what role Crypto plays in it.

Cryptocurrency transactions can be subject to the financial laws of a country depending on their role during the transaction: a form of payment, an investment, or a financial service. The main supervisory authorities in Denmark are the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA), National Bank (National Bank), Danish Tax Office, and Tax Council.

In general, it should be noted that the regulation of the financial market, which at some points concerns the country’s Cryptocurrency market, is under the influence of national and European directives as well. So, on January 10, 2020, an amendment to the Danish Act on Money Laundering came into force, in which virtual currency is defined as a digital representation of value that does not have the legal status of a currency, but is accepted by individuals and legal entities as a means of exchange and can transmitted, stored and sold electronically.

Summing up, we can say that the regulation of virtual currency in Denmark is practically non-existent, which gives market participants almost complete freedom of action. However, reputable Crypto companies, exchanges, exchangers, intermediaries, and consultants carefully monitor whether their activities are subject to the Laws “On payments”, “On the capital market”, “On financial business”, and EU regulations.

To start Cryptocurrency trading, international brokers operating in Denmark will be the best option as they are licensed by the strictest regulators and can guarantee a secure environment.

AvaTrade is a broker that will pleasantly surprise you not only with the variety of Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple, Dash, Litecoin, and others but with the whole range of trading instruments in the categories of currency pairs, CFDs, stocks, metals, commodities and indices.

Since the broker has a very large arsenal of financial instruments, for the convenience of traders, there is only one type of real account, the conditions that are selected by the market participant himself, depending on the chosen underlying asset and trading strategy. But for trading platforms you can choose among several: its own solution, several third-party Copy trading platforms, including ZuluTrade, DupliTrade as well as MetaTrader 4 (MT4) (and in some places MT5). All of them are for trading on a personal computer, via a browser, and via mobile.

AvaTrade has been licensed to provide online Forex trading services in several countries and is regulated by competent and trustworthy commissions, more specifically by MiFID, ASIC, Japan FSA, and FSB. 

Top Forex brokers in Denmark

The Danish brokerage market has been growing rapidly for several years now as thousands of new traders come with new needs. For trading to be successful, it is important at the initial stage to choose an honest and reliable intermediary, making a correct choice of a broker for trading in the financial market. You need to analyze lots of the criteria such as: rating, service rates, set of services. A good broker will have a license of the highest category, convenient platforms, minimum commissions, a wide range of financial instruments, as well as demo accounts for their clients.

Considering all the criteria, our expert team have prepared for you a list of brokers offering the best conditions and security in Denmark:

Plus500 in Denmark

Plus500 has been an active trading platform since 2008, where clients can trade more than two thousand financial assets: CFDs for stocks, ETFs, Cryptocurrencies, currency pairs, options, indices, and commodities with a trading guide.

If you are still new to Forex trading Plus500 has an option for you. You can open a demo account. This will allow you to practice, test your trading strategies, and gain the necessary experience in real market conditions.

The head office of the company is located in Israel, and Plus500 and its subsidiaries are authorized and regulated in different jurisdictions around the world.

The trading terminal was developed by the company’s specialists individually and has web versions of PCs, as well as mobile versions on Android and iOS to stay up to date 24/7.

eToro in Denmark

eToro is one of the largest and most prominent players in the Forex market, with a wide range of financial instruments of six categories: stocks, Cryptocurrencies, commodities, currencies, ETF indices, and over 20 million traders worldwide. The number of clients is primarily due to the impressive regulatory framework and obtained licenses such as FCA, ASIC and CySEC.

The main feature of the brokers’ site is the CopyTrader system – copying deals of other traders. But it’s not only about copying, eToro went further by creating a full-fledged social network  Each trader has his own message feed, and the ability to leave comments and communicate.

HF Markets in Denmark

HF Markets is a well-known broker that delivers trading services across a wide range of instruments including forex, commodities, Cryptocurrencies, stocks, indices, metals, energies, bonds and CFDs. For different types of clients, the trader created several accounts in order to cover all the needs: Micro, Premium, Zero Spread, Demo, or Islamic. You can test them on MT4, MetaTrader 4 Web Terminal, or dedicated mobile trading apps for Apple and iOS devices.

As far as regulation is concerned, the broker is controlled by FSC, CySEC, ESMA and FCA. Therefore, the activity of the broker is completely transparent both in Europe and on the international market.

AvaTrade in Denmark

AvaTrade has been among leaders of brokerage services, providing a wide range of trading instruments and all popular Cryptocurrencies. For some positions, even better conditions are presented than those of world Сrypto exchanges. The regulation of the broker is quite transparent, the company is subject to both European and international legislations, having licenses from ASIC, FSA, Abu Dhabi and British Virgin Islands regulators.

You can trade on various trading platforms, including MT4, MT5, Proprietary, AvaSocial, AvaTradeGo, AvaOptions, WebTrader. A mobile app on iOS and Android is also available for quick and ubiquitous access as well. 

NAGA Markets in Denmark

NAGA Markets is a broker that can boast of having top licenses, namely FCA, CySEC, MiFID II, and MiFIR. In addition to transparent regulation, it is also worth noting over 950 trading instruments and assets, including commodities, Cryptos, Forex, make deals on the markets of futures, precious metals, ETFs, indices. There is also available CFD trading.

In fact, Naga is not just about buying and selling on your own, but also a great platform for social trading. Beginners can follow the strategies of professionals, and those in turn will be able to receive passive income.

XM Group in Denmark

XM Group is undoubtedly one of the most famous international brokers and this is not surprising. Company’s offer list includes more than 55 currency pairs, metals, commodities, stocks, CFDs, indies and some more. The main regulator can be considered the Cyprus Securities and Markets Commission, CySEC. Besides, the company obtained licenses from such regulators as ASIC, IFSC and DFSA.

Traders can lead their deals on the MT4/MT5 platforms. The broker also offers a convenient mobile app which exactly repeats the functionality of web versions.  Besides, the broker provides clients with a VPS service that allows them to take full advantage of all the benefits of trading with XM without worrying about other factors that can interfere with fast and high-quality transactions, such as Internet connection speed, computer problems, and power outages.

The advantages of a broker can also include no fees for deposits and withdrawals. All commission costs of payment systems XM Group takes over. Clients can choose the most profitable trading account on unique terms with negative balance protection, and tight spreads: Micro, Standard, XM Ultra Low, and Shares.

It may appear to be a lot, but the good news is that you are not limited to choosing just one broker. Most of the reputable Forex brokers we mentioned above provide demo accounts, so you can sign up with a few and see whether their platforms are right for you. It will enable you to test a variety of trading techniques and make the most of advanced features currently available on the market.

It could also be a useful part of your portfolio diversification strategy: you can trade on your own with one broker while funding Social trading with another, earning some additional income.