Glossary of Forex Trading Terms E - F

- E -

Easing - Modest decline in price.

Economic Indicator - A statistics which indicates current economic growth rates and trends such as retail sales and employment.

ECU - European Currency Unit.

EDI - Electronic Data Interchange.

Effective Exchange Rate - An attempt to summarize the effects on a country's trade balance of its currency's changes against other currencies.

EFT - Electronic Fund Transfer.

EMS - European Monetary System.

European Monetary System - A system designed to stabilize if not eliminate exchange risk between member states of the EMS as part of the economic convergence policy of the EU. It permits currencies to move in a measured fashion (divergence indicator) within agreed bands (the parity grid) with respect to the ECU and consequently with each other.

Exchange control - Rules used to preserve or protect the value of a countries currency.

Exotic - A less broadly traded currency.

Exposure - In foreign exchange, a potential for gain or loss because of movement in foreign exchange rate. There are three primary types of exposure:

1. Economic: The change in future earning power and cash flow arising from a change in exchange rates. In effect, it represents a change in the value of a company holding foreign currency.
2. Transnational: A potential gain or loss arising from transactions that will definitely occur in the future, are currently in progress, or could have already been completed. A signed but not shipped sales contract, a receivable or foreign currency payment collected but not converted to local currency would all be examples of transaction exposure.
3. Translation: The potential for change in reported earnings and/or the book value of the consolidated company equity accounts, as the result of a change in foreign exchange rates used to translate the foreign currency statements of subsidiaries and affiliates known as accounting exposure.

- F -

Fast market - Rapid movement in a market caused by strong interest by buyers and/or sellers. In such circumstances price levels may be omitted and bid and offer quotations may occur too rapidly to be fully reported.

Fed Fund Rate - The interest rate on Fed funds. This is a closely watched short term interest rate as it signals the Feds view as to the state of the money supply.

Fed - The United States Federal Reserve. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Membership is compulsory for Federal Reserve members. The corporation had deep involvement in the Savings and Loans crisis of the late 80s.

Federal Reserve System - The central banking system in the United States.

Fill or Kill - An order which must be entered for trading, normally in a pit three times, if not filled is immediately canceled.

Fisher Effect - The relationship that exists between interest rates and exchange rate movements, so that in an ideal situation interest rate differentials would be exactly off set by exchange rate movements. See interest rate parity.

Fixed exchange rate - Official rate set by monetary authorities. Often the fixed exchange rate permits fluctuation within a band.

Flexible exchange rate - Exchange rates with a fixed parity against one or more currencies with frequent revaluation's. A form of managed float.

Floating exchange rate - An exchange rate where the value is determined by market forces. Even floating currencies are subject to intervention by the monetary authorities. When such activity is frequent the float is known as a dirty float.

FOMC - Federal Open Market Committee, the committee that sets money supply targets in the US which tend to be implemented through Fed Fund interest rates etc.

Foreign Exchange - The purchase or sale of a currency against sale or purchase of another.

Forex - Term commonly used when referring to the foreign exchange market.

Forex Club - Groups formed in the major financial centers to encourage educational and social contacts between foreign exchange dealers, under the umbrella of Association Cambiste International.

Forward margins - Discounts or premiums between spot rate and the forward rate for a currency. Normally quoted in points.

Forward Operations - Foreign exchange transactions, on which the fulfillment of the mutual delivery obligations is made on a date later than the second business day after the transaction was concluded.

Forward Outright - A commitment to buy or sell a currency for delivery on a specified future date or period. The price is quoted as the Spot rate minus or plus the forward points for the chosen period.

Forward Rate - Forward rates are quoted in terms of forward points , which represents the difference between the forward and spot rates. In order to obtain the forward rate from the actual exchange rate the forward points are either added or subtracted from the exchange rate. The decision to subtract or add points is determined by the differential between the deposit rates for both currencies concerned in the transaction. The base currency with the higher interest rate is said to be at a discount to the lower interest rate quoted currency in the forward market. Therefor the forward points are subtracted from the spot rate. Similarly, the lower interest rate base currency is said to be at a premium, and the forward points are added to the spot rate to obtain the forward rate.

Free Reserves - Total reserves held by a bank less the reserves required by the authority.

Front Office - The activities carried out by the dealer , normal trading activities.

Fundamentals - The macro economic factors that are accepted as forming the foundation for the relative value of a currency, these include inflation, growth, trade balance, government deficit, and interest rates.

FX - Foreign Exchange.