FOREX MARKET SIZE AND LIDUIDITY

In order to understand the functioning of the forex or the foreign exchange trading markets, it is primarily necessary to comprehend what is meant by the term ‘relative value’. It can be substantiated as follows. Every country in the world has its own distinct currency and it is possible to compare the value of the currency of one country to that of the currency of another country by determining a secular value which is popularly referred to as the relative value. It is always necessary to keep in mind that the relative value will never be a regular value but rather it will continue to change across regular time intervals influenced by the alterations in the value of the currency in the financial markets.

Forex has often been referred to as the market closest to the perfect competition. According to the BIS, average daily turnover in traditional foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.21 trillion. Daily averages in April for different years, in billions of US dollars, are presented on the chart below:

This $3.21 trillion in global foreign exchange market "traditional" turnover was broken down as follows:

• $1,005 billion in spot transactions
• $362 billion in outright forwards
• $1,714 billion in forex swaps
• $129 billion estimated gaps in reporting

In addition to "traditional" turnover, $2.1 trillion was traded in derivatives.

Exchange-traded forex futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts. Forex futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, and accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).

Average daily global turnover in traditional foreign exchange market transactions totaled $2.7 trillion in April 2006 according to IFSL estimates based on semi-annual London, New York, Tokyo and Singapore Foreign Exchange Committee data. Overall turnover, including non-traditional foreign exchange derivatives and products traded on exchanges, averaged around $2.9 trillion a day.