Internet Marketing Training
Home Page Site Map Today's News Contact Us

Option Arbitrage in the Forex Market


What is arbitrage? Arbitrage is the simultaneous buying and selling of identical financial instruments taking advantage of price discrepancies between different brokers, exchanges, clearing firms, etc. and thus locking in a profit. On paper, arbitrage is a risk-less trading strategy. In the real world however, risks abound.

So why trade arbitrage? Well, if the risks can be managed, arbitrage can be extremely profitable if you can find the opportunities and take advantage of the opportunities before they disappear. After all, the arbitrage opportunity is present because one side is slow to react to market news, momentum, etc. When it corrects the opportunity is gone.

Why arbitrage forex options? Well, because the opportunity exists if you look far it. The forex market is a cash inter-bank / inter-dealer market. In simplest terms, this means the foreign currencies traded in the forex market are traded directly between banks, foreign currency dealers and forex investors wishing either to diversify, speculate or to hedge foreign currency risk. The forex market is not a "market" in the traditional sense due to the fact that there is no centralized location for forex trading activity and, therefore, trades placed in the forex market are considered over-the-counter (OTC). Forex trading between parties occurs through computer terminals, exchanges and over telephones at thousands of locations worldwide.

Therefore the forex market is not as efficient as the NYSE for example. Price discrepancies exist between trading platforms, clearing firms, banks, etc if only for a small period of time. Options pricing is also affected for the same reasons but since there are other components involved in pricing an option than just the price of underlying currency, they tend to exist for longer periods of time.

One of the most common causes of option pricing differences is the calculation of volatility. Volatility is generally the standard deviation measured over a period of time. Sounds simple enough right? Well, if compare the volatility measure across different forex option providers, you'll likely find differences as large as 2%. When you find this you have also probably found an arbitrage opportunity.

Now that you've found an arbitrage opportunity, how do you trade it? Well, that's a bit trickier and this article cannot possibly cover all the risks associated with pulling off the trade but I will list some issues you should consider.

First of all, are the options really the same? Are the contract sizes, expiration dates and times the same? American or European style?

You also need to consider execution risk. Will there be slippage. Will there be a time delay in getting filled. Is the market moving too fast?

Exit strategy, how are you going to exit the trade and still capture the profit? What happens if the options expire in-the money? Out-of-the-money? What if you get assigned a position on one option but not the other?

These are just a few of the issues one must consider when trying to profit from option arbitrage. The key to option arbitrage is not unlike any other trade -- planning and risk management. Plan the trade, manage the risks, and execute the plan and you will be successful.

John Nobile,
Senior Account Executive,
CFOS/FX,
http://www.cfosfx.com


MORE RESOURCES:
FOREX-Dollar falls vs yen as jobless claims rise - Reuters

Maktoob Business (press release)

FOREX-Dollar falls vs yen as jobless claims rise
Reuters - 2 hours ago
By Steven C. Johnson NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The dollar fell against the yen on Thursday but gained against high-yield currencies as stock markets ...
Forex Markets: A Look Into The Dollar Part I istockAnalyst.com (press release)
Australia Intervenes in Forex Market, Spends Record 3 Billion to ... Daily FX
Dukascopy Daily Forex Overview Forex Hound
ACM - Forex Pros
all 287 news articles
FOREX-Yen advances vs dollar, euro, stocks eyed for direction - Reuters

FOREX-Yen advances vs dollar, euro, stocks eyed for direction
Reuters - Nov 19, 2008
... and momentum traders jumped in and followed the moves to push them higher," said Brian Dolan, head of research at Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey. ...
FOREX-US dollar slips against yen, up versus euro Reuters UK
Dollar hits session low vs yen after Fed minutes guardian.co.uk
FOREX-Dollar briefly pares losses vs yen after data Reuters
all 15 news articles
PFGBEST.com Delivers MetaTrader4 Retail Forex Platform - MarketWatch

PFGBEST.com Delivers MetaTrader4 Retail Forex Platform
MarketWatch - 19 hours ago
MT4 features real-time forex portfolio management, profit and loss and risk analysis data, automated strategy trading systems, and the System Tracker to ...
FOREX-Recession fear sweeps yen up; high-yielders fall - Reuters

Reuters

FOREX-Recession fear sweeps yen up; high-yielders fall
Reuters - 4 hours ago
By Veronica Brown LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The low-yielding yen extended a broad rally against major currencies on Thursday after downbeat economic ...
HK shares steady but telco services firms outperform Forbes
FOREX-Auto-driven economic, stock worries lift yen, dlr Reuters
PRESS DIGEST - Malaysia - Nov 18 Forbes
all 2,309 news articles
FOREX-Dollar rises vs yen, US stocks dictate direction - Reuters

FOREX-Dollar rises vs yen, US stocks dictate direction
Reuters - Nov 18, 2008
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The dollar climbed versus the yen on Tuesday, boosted by a steady performance in the US stock ...
FOREX-Rebounding US stocks lift dollar vs yen Reuters
all 13 news articles
Dukascopy Daily Forex Overview - Forex Hound

Dukascopy Daily Forex Overview
Forex Hound, NY - 7 hours ago
On Wednesday, the euro was whipsawed and finished the New York trading session down against the dollar, overcome by a big drop in US stocks. ...
Forex and Dow Jones recommended levels - International Business Times

Forex and Dow Jones recommended levels
International Business Times, NY - 8 hours ago
Todays support: - 1.2465(main), where correction is possible. Break would give 1.2453, where correction also may be. Then follows 1.2428. ...


Home Page Site Map Today's News Contact Us
© 2006 Forex Traders Network * PO Box 110422 * Denver CO 80231