4.2 Foreign Exchange Market 外汇市场

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1. Introduction to Foreign Exchange Market 外汇市场概述

The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a form of exchange for the global decentralized trading of international currencies.

外汇市场(外汇、外汇或外汇市场)是国际货币的全球分散交易的一种交换形式。

The foreign exchange market is unique because of

1)its huge trading volume representing the largest asset class in the world leading to high liquidity;

2)its geographical dispersion;

3)its continuous operation: 24 hours a day except weekends, i.e. trading from 20:15 GMT on Sunday until 22:00 GMT Friday;

4)the variety of factors that affect exchange rates;

5)the low margins of relative profit compared with other markets of fixed income;

6)the use of leverage to enhance profit and loss margins and with respect to account size.

2. Main Participants in the Foreign Exchange Market 外汇市场主要参与者

At the top is the interbank market, which is made up of the largest commercial banks and securities dealers. Within the interbank market, spreads, which are the difference between the bid and ask prices, are razor sharp and not known to players outside the inner circle.

The top-tier interbank market accounts for 53% of all transactions. From there, smaller banks, followed by large multi-national corporations (which need to hedge risk and pay employees in different countries), large hedge funds, and even some of the retail market makers.

3. Foreign Exchange Transactions 外汇交易

1) Spot transactions 即期交易

Spot transactions involve today’s prices of currency and delivery of the currency within two business days.

即期交易包括今天的货币价格和两个工作日内的货币交付。

2) Forward transaction 远期交易

A buyer and seller agree on an exchange rate for any date in the future and the transaction occurs on that date, regardless of what the market rates are then.

买卖双方就未来任何一个日期的汇率达成一致，交易发生在那个日期，而不管当时的市场汇率是多少。

3) Futures 期货

Foreign currency futures are forward transactions with standard contract sizes and maturity dates.

外汇期货是具有标准合约规模和到期日的远期交易。

4) Options 期权

For a price, a market participant can buy the right to buy(call option) or sell(put option) a currency at a fixed price on or before an agreed upon future date.

对于价格，市场参与者可以在约定的未来日期或之前以固定价格购买(看涨期权)或出售(看跌期权)货币的权利。

Checkpoint:

If a hotel room in downtown Los Angeles costs $100 per night and the USD/JPY exchange rate is 100, what is the yen price of the hotel room?

If the USD/JPY exchange rate increases to 150, what happens to the yen price of the hotel room?