What are you talking about? You lack basic knowledge of currency markets. Cash fx is the basic asset from which all your named derivatives are priced off. The largest asset class in the world is cash fx. That is where all the supply and demand is. Most multinational corporates deal in fx and have fx exposure. True, not all trade cash fx outright but setup derivatives to hedge against fx exposure, but the derivatives are the ones that are priced as function of moves in cash fx, not the other way around. Hedging fx derivatives does not drive the price of cash fx, it is the exact other way around. Don't believe some blokes who hang behind the squawk box all day and try to tell you that they know where cash fx is heading towards just because there are a few large option expires at level x or y at any given day. That is complete nonsense and works out much less often than it fails.
Also your point on a majority of people trading fx to reduce exposure is total nonsense. The fx market is an exchange of risk in a closed circuit, meaning the exact same amout of notional that is traded to reduce exposure is traded to take on exposure.
Lastly, you might be right on the spread in some very exotic pairs. But otherwise the spreads in cash fx are tighter than any other asset class given we compare equally liquid pairs with another asset in another asset class and compare matching notional exposure. Show me any equity index future that trades at a tighter spread than eurusd, for example 10 million usd equivalent base notional. Am happy to show you the spread I can trade at during market hours that beats the spread of any future you throw my way.
Also your point on a majority of people trading fx to reduce exposure is total nonsense. The fx market is an exchange of risk in a closed circuit, meaning the exact same amout of notional that is traded to reduce exposure is traded to take on exposure.
Lastly, you might be right on the spread in some very exotic pairs. But otherwise the spreads in cash fx are tighter than any other asset class given we compare equally liquid pairs with another asset in another asset class and compare matching notional exposure. Show me any equity index future that trades at a tighter spread than eurusd, for example 10 million usd equivalent base notional. Am happy to show you the spread I can trade at during market hours that beats the spread of any future you throw my way.
The real problem with cash FX is that there is not much ability to cross hedge and the spreads are wide. I remember wanting to daytrade the exotics and the spreads were just so prohibitive that I was forced into trading the majors.
The problem I have with the whole thing is that the market is too one sided. The banks control almost every instrument that can affect the majors. Examples:
FX Options and Swaps as well as Forwards and rate arbitrage. Eurodollars, STRIPS, and Short term fixed income instruments have HUGE currency risk in them!
Remember, most of the activity in FX is because people are trying to REDUCE their exposure!
This means that anybody caught on the wrong side of the latest news is probably not going to have a chance in the near term to wait it out, and take a smaller loss.
The point is, the FX brokers and market gurus claim that buying and selling in the FX markets is moving the price but in fact it is not true. VERY FEW groups are simply taking FX risk outright.
The proof is in the spreads. If there was actually genuine price discovery that was a function of buying and selling then the spreads would be much more narrow.
In my opinion you should trade ASX, NK225, Eurostoxx, FTSE, or U.S. equity index. Cross hedge is VERY useful!
Last edited: