Forex Option Trading to Diversify Your Forex Trading

by Steve Maenshel

Forex option trading is a hedging instrument, used not only by big financial institutions, but also by many individual Forex traders. Forex option trading is a great tool for implementing both, hedging and speculating strategies. Forex options are among the most liquid options in the world. The buyer in this case becomes a holder of a foreign currency option. The seller becomes the writer, or the granter.

The forex option holder receives the right to exchange a predefined amount of currency at a predefined date and price. The option buyer is obligated to pay a premium to the seller of the option. In fact, this is the only liability of the buyer, making Forex option trading a field with very limited liabilities. The forex option seller has two ways to precede with his/her option - to buy the contract back or to hold it until its expiration.

When you buy a Forex option, you are opting for a fixed price of the transaction. Forex options have a fixed amount with a fixed expiration date, rather than being tied to the markets’ fluctuations.

Forex options may be exercised or not exercised. Actually, most often options in Forex option trading are not exercised by the buyer, and are offset before their expiration date. In case the option does get exercised, the option holder is assigned a spot position. An option may also expire and become worthless, if by the time of its expiration the strike price is out-of-the-money.

As mentioned before, options in Forex option trading have a fixed price. This special feature shields you from losing all of your capital with a particularly unfavorable market move. You will profit when the strike price is higher than your initial purchase price, and you will incur a loss when its lower.

Forex option trading is applied strictly at the international exchanges, since it is a hedging instrument. While being probably riskier than regular Forex trading due to its uniqueness, Forex option trading is also potentially much more profitable.

Forex trading options are divided into 2 categories - call Forex options and put Forex options. The first type grants you with the right to purchase currency, while the second type grants you with the right to sell it. The most common factor which affects the prices of the Forex options is volatility. When volatility grows, the prices grow. When volatility falls, the prices also fall. There are common options in Forex option trading, which are called “plain vanilla”. Also there are customized options, known as “exotic”.

Are there any ways to make your Forex option trading less risky? Yes, for that try to follow the below general guidelines:

1. Forex option trading should only involve a very small part of your capital.

2. Trade only based on proven signals.

3. Practice on a demo account before starting to trade with real money.

Forex option trading is a tricky trading tool. However, if you want to diversify your knowledge of the financial markets, you may also consider giving Forex option trading a try.

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