Any options are available to you, and you with respect to currency options and foreign intermediaries?

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Forex option brokers can generally be divided into two separate categories: forex brokers who offer online forex option trading platforms and forex brokers who only broker forex option trading via telephone trades placed through a dealing/brokerage desk. A few forex option brokers offer both online forex option trading as well a dealing/brokerage desk for investors who prefer to place orders through a live forex option broker.

The trading account minimums required by different forex option brokers vary from a few thousand dollars to over fifty thousand dollars. Also, forex option brokers may require investors to trade forex options contracts having minimum notional values (contract sizes) up to $500,000. Last, but not least, certain types of forex option contracts can be entered into and exited at any time while other types of forex option contracts lock you in until expiration or settlement. Depending on the type of forex option contract you enter into, you might get stuck the wrong way with an option contract that you can not trade out of. Before trading, investors should inquire with their forex option brokers about initial trading account minimums, required contract size minimums and contract liquidity.

There are a number of different forex option trading products offered to investors by forex option brokers. We believe it is extremely important for investors to understand the distinctly different risk characteristics of each of the forex option trading products mentioned below that are offered by firms that broker forex options.

Plain Vanilla Forex Options Broker - Plain vanilla options generally refer to standard put and call option contracts traded through an exchange (however, in the case of forex option trading, plain vanilla options would refer to the standard, generic option contracts that are traded through an over-the-counter (OTC) forex dealer or clearinghouse). In simplest terms, vanilla forex options would be defined as the buying or selling of a standard forex call option contract or forex put option contract.

There are only a few forex option broker/dealers who offer plain vanilla forex options online with real-time streaming quotes 24 hours a day. Most forex option brokers and banks only broker forex options via telephone. Vanilla forex options for major currencies have good liquidity and you can easily enter the market long or short, or exit the market any time day or night.

Vanilla forex option contracts can be used in combination with each other and/or with spot forex contracts to form a basic strategy such as writing a covered call, or much more complex forex trading strategies such as butterflies, strangles, ratio spreads, synthetics, etc. Also, plain vanilla options are often the basis of forex option trading strategies known as exotic options.

Exotic Forex Options Broker - First, it is important to note that there a couple of different forex definitions for "exotic" and we don't want anyone getting confused. The first definition of a forex "exotic" refers to any individual currency that is less broadly traded than the major currencies. The second forex definition for "exotic" is the one we refer to on this website - a forex option contract (trading strategy) that is a derivative of a standard vanilla forex option contract.

To understand what makes an exotic forex option "exotic," you must first understand what makes a forex option "non-vanilla." Plain vanilla forex options have a definitive expiration structure, payout structure and payout amount. Exotic forex option contracts may have a change in one or all of the above features of a vanilla forex option. It is important to note that exotic options, since they are often tailored to a specific's investor's needs by an exotic forex options broker, are generally not very liquid, if at all.

Exotic forex options are generally traded by commercial and institutional investors rather than retail forex traders, so we won't spend too much time covering exotic forex options brokers. Examples of exotic forex options would include Asian options (average price options or "APO's"), barrier options (payout depends on whether or not the underlying reaches a certain price level or not), baskets (payout depends on more than one currency or a "basket" of currencies), binary options (the payout is cash-or-nothing if underlying does not reach strike price), lookback options (payout is based on maximum or minimum price reached during life of the contract), compound options (options on options with multiple strikes and exercise dates), spread options, chooser options, packages and so on. Exotic options can be tailored to a specific trader's needs, therefore, exotic options contract types change and evolve over time to suit those ever-changing needs.

Since exotic forex options contracts are usually specifically tailored to an individual investor, most of the exotic options business in transacted over the telephone through forex option brokers. There are, however, a handful of forex option brokers who offer "if touched" forex options or "single payment" forex options contracts online whereby an investor can specify an amount he or she is willing to risk in exchange for a specified payout amount if the underlying price reaches a certain strike price (price level). These transactions offered by legitimate online forex brokers can be considered a type of "exotic" option. However, we have noticed that the premiums charged for these types of contracts can be higher than plain vanilla option contracts with similar strike prices and you can not sell out of the option position once you have purchased this type of option - you can only attempt to offset the position with a separate risk management strategy. As a trade-off for getting to choose the dollar amount you want to risk and the payout you wish to receive, you pay a premium and sacrifice liquidity. We would encourage investors to compare premiums before investing in these kinds of options and also make sure the brokerage firm is reputable.

Again, it is fairly easy and liquid to enter into an exotic forex option contract but it is important to note that depending on the type of exotic option contract, there may be little to no liquidity at all if you wanted to exit the position.

Firms Offering Forex Option "Betting" - A number of new firms have popped up over the last year offering forex "betting." Though some may be legitimate, a number of these firms are either off-shore entities or located in some other remote location. We generally do not consider these to be forex brokerage firms. Many do not appear to be regulated by any government agency and we strongly suggest investors perform due diligence before investing with any forex betting firms. Invest at your own risk with these firms.

Forex Secrets "Trading Strategy And Tactics At Forex Market" (Part II)

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

(See beginning of this article under name Forex Secrets - Developing the "anti-chaos" trading strategy and tactics at Forex market (Part I)

It is horrible to imagine what could happen to USD rate at the spontaneous market in this case. At the controllable market of Forex USD rate would fall down just by 1-2%.

I hope that my opponents, who deny the existence of a system controlling Forex market, do remember the elementary economical laws. The spontaneous market is a barometer that establishes the real price of goods on the basis of the demand and supply (in the given case, it is the real rate of exchange of any national currency).

The Episode #2 . The hurricane "Katrina" and the flood in USA on September 7, 2005. USD rate stably increases. Chronicle of events.

As the result of the dam (dike) debacle, several states in USA become submerged. The industry, agriculture and transport network were destroyed. There started panic not only among common inhabitants but among officials of various ranks as well. Hundreds and thousands of people perished. There were cases of looting. Many looters (and, maybe, just desperately hungry and thirsty people) were shot by soldiers of USA army. The government of USA declared this hurricane to be a disaster on a national scale. For the first time a new plan of civic defense was introduced (see "BBC. The total chronicle of events").

"Katrina" was bringing USA to ruin. Senators from Louisiana asked $250 milliards from the federal budget for getting over "Katrina" after-effects.

Thus, it is an illustrative example of the greatest natural cataclysms in USA in the last decades. Even the poorest country in the world - Haiti - provided the financial help for USA ($ 36 thousands). The help of Ukraine made 1 million of hrivnias , etc.

What did happen to USD rate at the controllable Forex market? Notwithstanding all economical laws and even against the common sense, USD rate increased!

Chart 8.7. EURO/USD pair movement (For view picture see notes in end of article)

Chart 8.8. GBP/USD pair movement (For view picture see notes in end of article)

Brief conclusions for traders .

As I think, the thesis that Forex has turned from the spontaneous market to the controllable one does not need further proofs. Hence, traders must introduce amendments into strategy and tactic of their work at Forex.

What are the conclusions, significant for traders, logically follow from these facts?

Under the new conditions of the controllable market, a trader must not follow the "crowd" (flock). As B. Williams, A. Elder and many other authors have fairly emphasized, the "crowd" pushes the price at any spontaneous market. On the contrary, at the organized Forex market orders must be opened in advance of Consortium's interests!

I try to find the core of a good sense in each technique of the successful work at Forex . Is it necessary to rediscover the well-known principles? There are many prosperous traders who openly and honestly present their methods of gaining profits at Forex . If their techniques are successful, it means that these authors have a thorough grasp of the problem in its essence.

However, in practice, each of the techniques sometimes brings profits, whereas in other cases it is disadvantageous. And it does not matter, whether this technique is developed by B. Williams or by a not celebrated but a successful trader.

Conclusion #1. It is necessary to clearly delineate the domains where a given technique does work and where it fails (as well as the corresponding reasons). In such a way we can clearly understand what of the method by a given trader is worthwhile to be used - as well as how and when to make advantage of it for our work at Forex .

Conclusion #2 . Your trading system must not be just a mixture (farrago) of various techniques. This rule is especially important for the beginners. After reading heaps of books on Forex , all of them make complaints about "such a mess in their heads instead of enlightenment".

Conclusion #3. A trader must develop his own trading system. In order to gain profit, the following steps must be taken:

a. you choose just any technique developed by any author-trader (e.g., mine or B. Williams's, or somebody's else);

b. you must get used to work with the demo account according to this technique to such extent of automatism that you "sense' it as your own initial (original) trading system of the work at Forex

c. Only after this you should start to study additional literature. You must clearly see what pointes, "borrowed" from other authors, can help you personally to work at Forex , to improve your trading system for getting extra profits.

Objectiveness of Forex turning from the spontaneous market into the controllable one. The pattern of this process

Any profitable business transits from the spontaneous to the controllable one. It is an objective stage in the evolution of business undertakings.

In each branch of a big and super profitable business the initial stage of the chaotic competitive straggle is already has been passed through (petroleum, gas, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, precious metals, arms traffic, etc.). At present all these areas are definitely divided between the principal participants. That is, there exist certain financially-industrial groupings, well-controllable and protected from intrusion of a concurrent.

The same concerns the biggest and most conservative area of business - i.e., its financial branch, the world market of currency exchange included. Can it be otherwise? Can "Chaos" rule the market where the turnover exceeds $1 trillion per day? Can the biggest banks and governments depend on "Chaos" - i.e., be dependable of the "off-floor" traders - such as me and you? Can these organizations be worried about the direction in which we (traders) could turn the trend of all national currencies at this or that second? It is ridiculous to imagine!

To realize the power of the grouping that has organized the "game" of Forex all over the world, we should refer to the thesis from the journal "Speculator". In June, 2001 the three biggest dealers at Forex market - Citibank, J.P. Morgan Chase и Deutsche Bank - together with Reuters Group PLC had started up the system Atriax . However, the latter did not meet competition and stopped operations in spring, 2002. The author of the paper just hinted that even the alliance of the 3 biggest world banks could not make any serious competition to Organizer of the "game" at Forex (to Consortium or somebody else).

In this connection, how one can take on trust the principal thesis by B. Williams concerning "Trading chaos" that rules Forex? What's important, all methods of this author issue from this postulate. The following conclusion by B. Williams's also raises doubts. He states that trends are created by traders, whereas brokers just realize these trends and place traders' orders. According to B. Williams, the fact that now trends are made rather "off-floor" than "on floor" (as it was earlier) permits detecting what next will happen at the market (see "Trading Chaos", Chapter 6).

So, to what extent can B. Williams's techniques be correct if their basis is principally erroneous? Let us enumerate the fundamental mistakes made in "Trading Chaos". It is necessary to facilitate understanding of the techniques and practical recommendations given by B. Williams concerning the work at Forex .

1. B. Williams sees Forex as a spontaneous market, uncontrollable by anybody. According to this author, it is chaos but not an organized system that would have its own strategy, tactic, techniques, goals, methods of fraud, etc.

2. B. Williams mentions the pair "trader + broker". However, unconsciously or deliberately, he has omitted the third participant of this very process. This is banks and the world financial system in general. Surely, this organization will not just take a detached view of the traders' arbitrary "game" with the basic world currencies (USD, EURO, GBP, CHF, etc.).

Let us now evolve B. Williams's idea by ourselves. Our aim is to demonstrate absurdity of his "chaos theory" applied to the up-to-date market of Forex.

· How brokers and banks market-makers can pay off profits from traders' deposits if the traders' total earnings would be bigger than the market-maker's profit in this period?

· Being in shoes of market-makers, National Banks, governments of leading countries of the world, etc., how will you conduct yourself on the eve of the news issue? For instance, after the publication of Michigan University Index, USD can "go up" by 150-200 points with respect to all national currencies. That is, in several hours dozens of milliards of USD will be redistributed. Somebody will earn the money, whereas somebody will lose it because of the difference in rates of exchange (quotations).

What will you do in the place of the biggest financial groupings? Would you just be sitting and taking sedative pills? Would you just be trying to guess what steps will be taken by professors of a Michigan University? Will 0.3% be added to the index previous value (91.4) or subtracted from it? What's important, this "difference" makes milliards of USD - for somebody! Possessing such capitals, would you just be sitting idly and waiting for God knows what? More probably, you will try to make this process controllable and predictable. Rather you will do your best to gain profit with the help of such indices and news. I think you will try to let the others lose their money.

· What does the theory of "chaos" at Forex represent by itself if Organizer of the "game" has trained all traders to act according to the stereotype?

a). To place stop-losses and postponed orders at the same places.

b). If the issued news are better than the prognostication, one must stake on "buy". Otherwise (if the news are worse than the prognostication), it is necessary to stake on "sell".

c). If a quicker moving average crosses the slower one upwards, the order must be opened on "buy". In the case of the downward crossover, the order must be opened on "sell".

d). In the case of divergence, one must try to work against the trend. B. Williams and other "classics" at least had to mention that it was basically absurd to work like this at the beginning of the trend and in the middle of it.

This is why the given chapter is named "Anti-trading chaos" - to be more precise, it is the anti-trading system.

Further I'll not dwell on absurdity of the chaos theory by B. Williams when applied to Forex . I hope it is quite clear. Any trader can find a lot of evidences of the fact that Forex is a controllable market. There are also many examples that prove fallacy of B. Williams's conclusion that traders form a trend and "push" it.

As I get it, the "game" of Forex and its rules in their essence are the following.

1. There is Organizer of the financial game (the Alligator) and participants (victims).

2. Organizer always tries to demonstrate: a). objectivity and honesty of the rules established by himself; b). simplicity of the analysis, predictability of the situations and the possibility of earning money easily and regularly by one of the numerous methods of the analysis (FA, TA, etc.).

3. All participants of the "game" are subjected to the same psychological treatment by Brokers, authors of numerical "classical" works on Forex and analysts via their sites and prognoses. That is, such specialists teach every trader to work as all others in the world do.

As the result, Organizer beforehand knows the traders' line of conduct in these or those situations. The percentage of "players"-losers is stable - about 90%.

4. A rapid growth in the number of fraudulent machinations developed by Brokers has become a logical continuation of the above-enumerated rules of the given game. Economists from Brokers have quickly grasped that the number 90% of traders-loses is very close to the figure 100%. What for will they send clients' transactions to the foreign market (the market-maker bank)? In fact, traders will lose all the same! Besides, it is possible to slightly "help" traders in their losing by "knocking down" stop-losses - all traders keep their stop-losses approximately at the same place. In addition, the following tricks can be done as well: the "slippage" (opening of transactions at a price much worse than the price at which the trader wanted to open the deal); computer "pending" at the beginning of the heavy movement in currency pairs. One can give many analogous examples - up to the undisguised fraudulent nonpayment of earned profits to traders.

These centers are also protected from the viewpoint of finances. If in flats the sums of orders of the traders who open transactions on "buy" and "sell" are approximately equal, Brokers can always hedge the difference between "buy" and "sell" with a market-maker under the condition of a heavy trend.

The only thing that cheats from Brokers are afraid of is the unmasking of methods of their work. Really, this will put an end to the afflux of new "victims"!

There are several sure signs of a fraudulent Brokers. In my educational course I enumerate some of such indications. However, here I give only one characteristic (traders should think about it well). If Brokers has one point of spread, you should calculate expenses on the marginal trade, in detail described in all "classical" manuals of Forex . For instance, let it be thought that you open the order for one lot. Forex Brokers supposedly buys EURO to the sum of $ 100 thousands for you. When you close the order, Forex Brokers supposedly transfer EURO to USD again. Thus, if you open 10 deals with EURO/USD pair during a day, your Forex Brokers is supposed to send money abroad and get it back 10 times, buying EURO for USD and v.v. All these transactions must be made exceptionally for you! Is it realistic?

In a next-door bank you should ask the conditions for the transfer of $100 thousands abroad and back. You will learn the cost of the commission for such services and the time required for this transaction (in half a day, the next day, etc.). Here I do not mention the papers that must be prepared for each transfer. I also say nothing about the time required for collecting all signatures.

I wonder, during this period of time what changes will occur in EURO/USD rate as the latter is altering every second?

5. To earn regularly at Forex, you have to master yourself. That is, a trading scheme must be developed. According to this scheme you will work against "generally accepted" rules. As it is already mentioned, these rules are popularized by Organizer of the game at Forex . Sticking to these rules, more than 90% of traders all over the world lose their money.

6. Developing my trading system, I have made use of numerous generally-recognized techniques of the work at Forex (by B. Williams, etc.). Surely, there is a kernel of good sense in any technique that enables earning money - even if in 50% of cases. Therefore, the trader's task is to differentiate the conditions, under which a given technique can provide profit. It is also necessary to understand where, when and why this technique yields a loss to the trader. Naturally, a trader must use only this first part of the system, where one can gain profit.

7. For the development of your own trading system, you must do your best to organically integrate different techniques, profitable at Forex. Various methods of giving analysis to Forex from different viewpoints do help us to more thoroughly and profoundly understand this market and, consequently, to gain profit regularly.

8. The game of Forex is widely spread all over the world. In addition to speculators, there are other participants in Forex - e.g., individuals who need to exchange currency for their business. All these factors provide an objective opportunity to gain profits bigger (and more regularly) than in any other financial game of the world.

9. Therefore, Forex gives a real opportunity to get into the principally new financial market and to become a really independent. Anybody can be engaged in trading at any point in the world. For sure, a State, much as it would want it, cannot deprive a trader of his production facilities because in this area gaining of profit depends just on one's techniques and skill.

10. Forex gives you just a chance to earn money. However, not everybody can learn how to gain real profit. Even after having mastered the fundamentals of making money at Forex , a trader needs to learn a lot of additional factors in order to transform his potential abilities into real money. In this connection the following aspects are very important.

a). the psychological stability (the absence of fear and hazard, the ability to work automatically at the subconscious level, etc);

b). a reliable broker (the trader's profits, being virtual, materialize only if you can convert it into real money at any second);

c). self-perfection via mastering new techniques of gaining profit, learning from an experienced instructor and due to exchanging opinions with other traders;

d). the possibility of obtaining money from the investor for the asset management. This gives the opportunity to proceed from the level of one's own deposit of several hundreds or thousands of USD to the principally new level of the work at Forex. In this way one can simultaneously reinvest a part of one's profits into the deposit and to spend money on heightening of one's own well-being. There is a simple example. At mini- Forex , many traders do not earn a lot of money: even if a trader has doubled his deposit in a month, his profit is small (e. g., by making $100 out of $50). Besides, a part of it he must take off from the deposit for the daily needs. I'll not give examples of large deposits because the tactics of work with them are principally different - as well as the percentage of profit.

11. Not everybody can cover a distance from the chance (the dream) to its realization - i.e., to making real money at Forex . As a trader, here you work against Organizer of this game, who is the professional. That is, to earn money regularly by taking it away from Organizer, one must become the professional himself. Do not hurry to open a real account at least till the time when you will learn to do the following:

a). As B. Williams himself, in several minutes to clearly see two possible alternatives of currency pair movement at the beginning of each session. Correspondingly, you must develop two business plans, where points of input into the market and output from it must be clearly designated.

b). To work out one's own tactic of the work with the demo account at Forex to perfection. The aim is to augment the demo account at least 2.5-3 times in a month.

c). To develop the long-term and intermediate strategies (not less than a month and a week, respectively) - as well as the short-term tactic (the intra-day trading session). Acquisition of this knowledge will help you to gain profit.

d). After opening of the real account, at the beginning you must work only with trends (under the conditions of flats you must deal with demo accounts). It is necessary to clearly distinguish one from another at the beginning of trading.

e). You must choose two ally currency pairs and work with them continuously, accumulating experience.

12. There can be reasons why your demo account does not augment regularly (in particular, maybe you are too busy at your main job). In this case, you better forget about Forex ! You must not open a real account there. It means that Forex is not intended for you.

By the way, there is completely nothing humiliating in the inability to make money at Forex . Some people do not understand technology, or literature. Others do not come to know fine arts, politics or sports, etc. Does anybody consider oneself inferior because of this reason? Surely, not at all!

Analogously, I perfectly well realize that the reaction to the last two items of my vision of the game at Forex can be inadequate. It will stimulate an immediate tide of slander and lies concerning me and my book. The reason is that I'm not an employee of BROKER but a trader. I try to understand recent rules of the game at Forex, its mechanisms and to explain them to others

Let's take an overview of the foreign exchange market options

Friday, March 4, 2011

The forex options market started as an over-the-counter (OTC) financial vehicle for large banks, financial institutions and large international corporations to hedge against foreign currency exposure. Like the forex spot market, the forex options market is considered an "interbank" market. However, with the plethora of real-time financial data and forex option trading software available to most investors through the internet, today's forex option market now includes an increasingly large number of individuals and corporations who are speculating and/or hedging foreign currency exposure via telephone or online forex trading platforms.

Forex option trading has emerged as an alternative investment vehicle for many traders and investors. As an investment tool, forex option trading provides both large and small investors with greater flexibility when determining the appropriate forex trading and hedging strategies to implement.

Most forex options trading is conducted via telephone as there are only a few forex brokers offering online forex option trading platforms.

Forex Option Defined - A forex option is a financial currency contract giving the forex option buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase or sell a specific forex spot contract (the underlying) at a specific price (the strike price) on or before a specific date (the expiration date). The amount the forex option buyer pays to the forex option seller for the forex option contract rights is called the forex option "premium."

The Forex Option Buyer - The buyer, or holder, of a foreign currency option has the choice to either sell the foreign currency option contract prior to expiration, or he or she can choose to hold the foreign currency options contract until expiration and exercise his or her right to take a position in the underlying spot foreign currency. The act of exercising the foreign currency option and taking the subsequent underlying position in the foreign currency spot market is known as "assignment" or being "assigned" a spot position.

The only initial financial obligation of the foreign currency option buyer is to pay the premium to the seller up front when the foreign currency option is initially purchased. Once the premium is paid, the foreign currency option holder has no other financial obligation (no margin is required) until the foreign currency option is either offset or expires.

On the expiration date, the call buyer can exercise his or her right to buy the underlying foreign currency spot position at the foreign currency option's strike price, and a put holder can exercise his or her right to sell the underlying foreign currency spot position at the foreign currency option's strike price. Most foreign currency options are not exercised by the buyer, but instead are offset in the market before expiration.

Foreign currency options expires worthless if, at the time the foreign currency option expires, the strike price is "out-of-the-money." In simplest terms, a foreign currency option is "out-of-the-money" if the underlying foreign currency spot price is lower than a foreign currency call option's strike price, or the underlying foreign currency spot price is higher than a put option's strike price. Once a foreign currency option has expired worthless, the foreign currency option contract itself expires and neither the buyer nor the seller have any further obligation to the other party.

The Forex Option Seller - The foreign currency option seller may also be called the "writer" or "grantor" of a foreign currency option contract. The seller of a foreign currency option is contractually obligated to take the opposite underlying foreign currency spot position if the buyer exercises his right. In return for the premium paid by the buyer, the seller assumes the risk of taking a possible adverse position at a later point in time in the foreign currency spot market.

Initially, the foreign currency option seller collects the premium paid by the foreign currency option buyer (the buyer's funds will immediately be transferred into the seller's foreign currency trading account). The foreign currency option seller must have the funds in his or her account to cover the initial margin requirement. If the markets move in a favorable direction for the seller, the seller will not have to post any more funds for his foreign currency options other than the initial margin requirement. However, if the markets move in an unfavorable direction for the foreign currency options seller, the seller may have to post additional funds to his or her foreign currency trading account to keep the balance in the foreign currency trading account above the maintenance margin requirement.

Just like the buyer, the foreign currency option seller has the choice to either offset (buy back) the foreign currency option contract in the options market prior to expiration, or the seller can choose to hold the foreign currency option contract until expiration. If the foreign currency options seller holds the contract until expiration, one of two scenarios will occur: (1) the seller will take the opposite underlying foreign currency spot position if the buyer exercises the option or (2) the seller will simply let the foreign currency option expire worthless (keeping the entire premium) if the strike price is out-of-the-money.

Please note that "puts" and "calls" are separate foreign currency options contracts and are NOT the opposite side of the same transaction. For every put buyer there is a put seller, and for every call buyer there is a call seller. The foreign currency options buyer pays a premium to the foreign currency options seller in every option transaction.

Forex Call Option - A foreign exchange call option gives the foreign exchange options buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase a specific foreign exchange spot contract (the underlying) at a specific price (the strike price) on or before a specific date (the expiration date). The amount the foreign exchange option buyer pays to the foreign exchange option seller for the foreign exchange option contract rights is called the option "premium."

Please note that "puts" and "calls" are separate foreign exchange options contracts and are NOT the opposite side of the same transaction. For every foreign exchange put buyer there is a foreign exchange put seller, and for every foreign exchange call buyer there is a foreign exchange call seller. The foreign exchange options buyer pays a premium to the foreign exchange options seller in every option transaction.

The Forex Put Option - A foreign exchange put option gives the foreign exchange options buyer the right, but not the obligation, to sell a specific foreign exchange spot contract (the underlying) at a specific price (the strike price) on or before a specific date (the expiration date). The amount the foreign exchange option buyer pays to the foreign exchange option seller for the foreign exchange option contract rights is called the option "premium."

Please note that "puts" and "calls" are separate foreign exchange options contracts and are NOT the opposite side of the same transaction. For every foreign exchange put buyer there is a foreign exchange put seller, and for every foreign exchange call buyer there is a foreign exchange call seller. The foreign exchange options buyer pays a premium to the foreign exchange options seller in every option transaction.

Plain Vanilla Forex Options - Plain vanilla options generally refer to standard put and call option contracts traded through an exchange (however, in the case of forex option trading, plain vanilla options would refer to the standard, generic forex option contracts that are traded through an over-the-counter (OTC) forex options dealer or clearinghouse). In simplest terms, vanilla forex options would be defined as the buying or selling of a standard forex call option contract or a forex put option contract.

Exotic Forex Options - To understand what makes an exotic forex option "exotic," you must first understand what makes a forex option "non-vanilla." Plain vanilla forex options have a definitive expiration structure, payout structure and payout amount. Exotic forex option contracts may have a change in one or all of the above features of a vanilla forex option. It is important to note that exotic options, since they are often tailored to a specific's investor's needs by an exotic forex options broker, are generally not very liquid, if at all.

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Value - The price of an FX option is calculated into two separate parts, the intrinsic value and the extrinsic (time) value.

The intrinsic value of an FX option is defined as the difference between the strike price and the underlying FX spot contract rate (American Style Options) or the FX forward rate (European Style Options). The intrinsic value represents the actual value of the FX option if exercised. Please note that the intrinsic value must be zero (0) or above - if an FX option has no intrinsic value, then the FX option is simply referred to as having no (or zero) intrinsic value (the intrinsic value is never represented as a negative number). An FX option with no intrinsic value is considered "out-of-the-money," an FX option having intrinsic value is considered "in-the-money," and an FX option with a strike price at, or very close to, the underlying FX spot rate is considered "at-the-money."

The extrinsic value of an FX option is commonly referred to as the "time" value and is defined as the value of an FX option beyond the intrinsic value. A number of factors contribute to the calculation of the extrinsic value including, but not limited to, the volatility of the two spot currencies involved, the time left until expiration, the riskless interest rate of both currencies, the spot price of both currencies and the strike price of the FX option. It is important to note that the extrinsic value of FX options erodes as its expiration nears. An FX option with 60 days left to expiration will be worth more than the same FX option that has only 30 days left to expiration. Because there is more time for the underlying FX spot price to possibly move in a favorable direction, FX options sellers demand (and FX options buyers are willing to pay) a larger premium for the extra amount of time.

Volatility - Volatility is considered the most important factor when pricing forex options and it measures movements in the price of the underlying. High volatility increases the probability that the forex option could expire in-the-money and increases the risk to the forex option seller who, in turn, can demand a larger premium. An increase in volatility causes an increase in the price of both call and put options.

Delta - The delta of a forex option is defined as the change in price of a forex option relative to a change in the underlying forex spot rate. A change in a forex option's delta can be influenced by a change in the underlying forex spot rate, a change in volatility, a change in the riskless interest rate of the underlying spot currencies or simply by the passage of time (nearing of the expiration date).

The delta must always be calculated in a range of zero to one (0-1.0). Generally, the delta of a deep out-of-the-money forex option will be closer to zero, the delta of an at-the-money forex option will be near .5 (the probability of exercise is near 50%) and the delta of deep in-the-money forex options will be closer to 1.0. In simplest terms, the closer a forex option's strike price is relative to the underlying spot forex rate, the higher the delta because it is more sensitive to a change in the underlying rate.