Foreign Exchange Case Study

983 Words2 Pages

The importance of foreign exchange market in the economy as well as in the development of economic agents for international transactions cannot be ignored. There are different products of foreign exchange which are discussed in detail in the course of this discussion.
Currency Swap
A currency swap is a swap contract in which two parties exchange the flow of cash in two different currencies. It is a concept that may seem complicated, but usually find in the world of OTC derivatives. For example, if a Japanese company needs a flow of Swiss francs while the Swiss company needs a flow of Japanese yen t hen they must have to agree on a currency swap by being exchanged for a period of time and amounts of currency (Buckley, 2004). Suppose the companies …show more content…

FX Options
A currency option gives the investor the right but not the obligation, either to buy (call) and sell (put option) a few determined at a specified price (called the strike price) on a date scheduled for currencies (expiration date). For this right to buy or sell the underlying asset pays an upfront premium to the seller of the option. The decision to use or exercise this right depends on market conditions at the time of option expiration. FX Options trading allows profit if a currency pair goes up or down (Hull, 2011).
Forex Options allows investors to select the date of maturity, strike price and amount (size of the operation). This is unlike exchange-traded options, which are more restrictive with respect to maturity and the quantities set. FX Options can be traded while the Forex market is open.
Why Foreign Exchange Products are important for …show more content…

Foreign exchange products are especially important for multinational businesses because they guide the international transactions of goods, capital and services. Relations between almost all currencies used are made public daily, showing the values that are exchanged each other, although there is almost always a more important currency used as a reference for measuring the value of the other. The US dollar, in most of the world, is used for this purpose (Watson & Head, 2010).
In the absence of a common currency exchange between countries, business between these currencies becomes complicated. The foreign exchange market allows transfer of purchasing power among nations. It facilitates trade between regions, prompting many economies where the forex market is very important because this trade may constitute a large part of its GDP (Jones,

Open Document