Introduction—Futures Contracts
The overwhelming majority of currency trading volume is in the spot market. FOREX inevitably means spot trading to most participants. But it is possible to trade FOREX as a futures vehicle. The primary advantage of FOREX futures lies in the fact that the futures markets are centralized and as such are more heavily regulated. Traders leery of market maker practices in retail spot FOREX may find comfort and a better sleep by trading currencies on a centralized, heavily regulated futures exchange. Indeed, an increase in futures FOREX has been identified in the past two years although volume continues to be dwarfed by the spot market. The selection of traded currency pairs with reasonable liquidity is also smaller in the futures arena. A secondary advantage is that many popular technical trading methods use volume of trading and open interest. While aggregate volume is known in FOREX, daily figures are unobtainable because of the decentralized nature of the business. Attempts are under way, including those by the author, to synthesize spot FOREX volume and open interest statistics from other data using statistical methods. The correlation of spot FOREX data to futures FOREX data has not been promising.
A futures contract is an agreement, or contract, between two parties: a short position, the party who agrees to deliver a commodity, and a long position, the party who agrees to receive a commodity. For example, a grain farmer would be the holder of the short position (agreeing to sell the grain) while the bakery would be the holder of the long (agreeing to buy the grain).
In a futures contract, everything is precisely specified: the quantity and quality of the underlying commodity, the specific price per unit, and the date and method of delivery. The price of a futures contract is represented by the agreed-on price of the underlying commodity or financial instrument that will be delivered in the future. For example, in the grain scenario, the price of the contract might be 5,000 bushels of grain at a price of $4 per bushel and the delivery date may be the third Wednesday in September of the current year.
Options (here meaning delivery months) are staggered throughout the calendar year. Typically the most current option month generates the most trading activity as it is most easily identified with the spot market.
Currency Futures
The FOREX market is essentially a cash or spot market in which more than 90 percent of the trades are liquidated within 48 hours. Currency trades held longer than this are sometimes routed through an authorized commodity futures exchange such as the International Monetary Market (IMM). IMM was founded in 1972 and is a division of the CME Group, formerly the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. CME Group specializes in currency futures, interest-rate futures, and stock index futures, as well as options on futures. Clearinghouses (the futures exchange) and introducing brokers are subject to more stringent regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and National Futures Association (NFA) agencies than the FOREX spot market (see www.cmegroup.com for more details).
It should also be noted that FOREX traders are charged only a transaction cost per trade, which is simply the difference between the current bid and ask prices. Currency futures traders are charged a round-turn commission varying from broker to broker. In addition, margin requirements for futures contracts are usually slightly higher than the requirements for the FOREX spot market.
The overwhelming majority of currency trading volume is in the spot market. FOREX inevitably means spot trading to most participants. But it is possible to trade FOREX as a futures vehicle. The primary advantage of FOREX futures lies in the fact that the futures markets are centralized and as such are more heavily regulated. Traders leery of market maker practices in retail spot FOREX may find comfort and a better sleep by trading currencies on a centralized, heavily regulated futures exchange. Indeed, an increase in futures FOREX has been identified in the past two years although volume continues to be dwarfed by the spot market. The selection of traded currency pairs with reasonable liquidity is also smaller in the futures arena. A secondary advantage is that many popular technical trading methods use volume of trading and open interest. While aggregate volume is known in FOREX, daily figures are unobtainable because of the decentralized nature of the business. Attempts are under way, including those by the author, to synthesize spot FOREX volume and open interest statistics from other data using statistical methods. The correlation of spot FOREX data to futures FOREX data has not been promising.
A futures contract is an agreement, or contract, between two parties: a short position, the party who agrees to deliver a commodity, and a long position, the party who agrees to receive a commodity. For example, a grain farmer would be the holder of the short position (agreeing to sell the grain) while the bakery would be the holder of the long (agreeing to buy the grain).
In a futures contract, everything is precisely specified: the quantity and quality of the underlying commodity, the specific price per unit, and the date and method of delivery. The price of a futures contract is represented by the agreed-on price of the underlying commodity or financial instrument that will be delivered in the future. For example, in the grain scenario, the price of the contract might be 5,000 bushels of grain at a price of $4 per bushel and the delivery date may be the third Wednesday in September of the current year.
Options (here meaning delivery months) are staggered throughout the calendar year. Typically the most current option month generates the most trading activity as it is most easily identified with the spot market.
Currency Futures
The FOREX market is essentially a cash or spot market in which more than 90 percent of the trades are liquidated within 48 hours. Currency trades held longer than this are sometimes routed through an authorized commodity futures exchange such as the International Monetary Market (IMM). IMM was founded in 1972 and is a division of the CME Group, formerly the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. CME Group specializes in currency futures, interest-rate futures, and stock index futures, as well as options on futures. Clearinghouses (the futures exchange) and introducing brokers are subject to more stringent regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and National Futures Association (NFA) agencies than the FOREX spot market (see www.cmegroup.com for more details).
It should also be noted that FOREX traders are charged only a transaction cost per trade, which is simply the difference between the current bid and ask prices. Currency futures traders are charged a round-turn commission varying from broker to broker. In addition, margin requirements for futures contracts are usually slightly higher than the requirements for the FOREX spot market.
