What is Forex (the foreign exchange market)?
FOREX stands for foreign exchange and it refers to the foreign exchange market. Forex (FX) is an international market for trading currencies.
The foreign exchange market determines the relative values of different currencies. It subsequently enables currency conversion. The foreign exchange market is essential for international trade, i.e., importing and exporting products.
Large international banks mainly control Forex. It is also by far one of the most liquid markets.
It is an over-the-counter market, i.e., traders negotiate directly with each other. There is no form of central house.
According to IG Group, there are many markets, apart from forex, in which to trade. There are indices, shares, cryptocurrencies, commodities and several others.
Forex traders try to take advantage of currency fluctuations by selling or buying individual currencies to speculate on their relative future values.
Forex turnover.
The average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion, according to the “Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity in 2010”.
According to Oxford Dictionaries , ‘ Forex ‘ is the abbreviation for ‘ foreign exchange .’
On an average trading day the Forex market generates:
$1.765 trillion in foreign exchange swaps $1.490 trillion in spot transactions $475 billion in outright forwards $207 billion in options and other products $43 billion in currency swaps.
The Forex market is open 24 hours a day for five and a half days a week. The market opens in the main global financial centers. London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, for example, are major global financial centers. Sydney and Frankfurt are also major global financial centers.
Forex market size.
Forex traders include governments, central banks, large banks, and financial institutions. Corporations and currency speculators are also Forex traders.
Just over one-third of all trading, i.e., 36.7%, occurs in the United Kingdom. The UK is, therefore, the leading center for foreign exchange trading.
Since 2004 foreign exchange trading has more than doubled.
Top 10 currency traders.
1 Deutsche Bank 15.18% 2 Citi 14.90% 3 Barclays Investment Bank 10.24% 4 UBS AG 10.11% 5 HSBC 6.93% 6 JPMorgan 6.07% 7 Royal Bank of Scotland 5.62% 8 Credit Suisse 3.70% 9 Morgan Stanley 3.15% 10 Bank of America Merrill Lynch 3.08%
Most traded currencies by value.
Rank Currency (Symbol) % daily share (April 2010) 1 United States dollar USD ($) 84.9% 2 Euro EUR (€) 39.1% 3 Japanese yen JPY (¥) 19.0% 4 Pound sterling GBP (£) 12.9% 5 Australian dollar AUD ($) 7.6% 6 Swiss franc CHF (Fr) 6.4% 7 Canadian dollar CAD ($) 5.3% 8 Hong Kong dollar HKD ($) 2.4% 9 Swedish krona SEK (kr) 2.2% 10 New Zealand dollar NZD ($) 1.6% 11 South Korean won KRW (₩) 1.5% 12 Singapore dollar SGD ($) 1.4% 13 Norwegian krone NOK (kr) 1.3% 14 Mexican peso MXN ($) 1.3% 15 Indian rupee INR 0.9% Other 12.2% Total 200%
The most traded currency pairs are (approximately):
EUR/USD: 28 percent USD/JPY: 14 percent GBP/USD: 9 percent.
The three ways of trading Forex.
There are three different ways to trade foreign exchange currencies: the spot market, the forwards market, and the futures market.
The Spot Market.
A spot trade is a ‘direct exchange’ with a very short time frame, i.e., up to two working days.
It is between two different currencies relative to their current market price. Supply and demand, i.e., market forces, influence their price.
There is no contract in the spot market, neither is there any interest involved in the transaction.
A Forward Transaction.
A forward transaction does not involve an immediate exchange of money.
Instead, the parties agree to carry out the transaction on a specific future date. The traders decide on an exchange rate for that date, and the deal subsequently takes place on that date.
Futures.
These are sold as a standard size and settlement date on public commodities markets. On average, a future contract length is around three months.
Types of exchange rate.
There are two types of exchange rates:
1. A floating exchange rate , where the forces of supply and demand determine the value of a currency.
2. A fixed exchange rate , in which the government determines, i.e., ‘fixes,’ the value of a currency. It either pegs the currency to a major one or a basket of currencies. Alternatively, it may peg the currency to the value of a precious metal. Devaluations can only happen to currencies on a fixed exchange rate.