Forex options are derivative contracts that allow the bearer the right, but not the commitment, to buy or sell an asset by the close date for the strike price
The traditional (“vanilla”) call or put option
A vanilla option is a call or put option with no special or exceptional characteristics. If such options are traded on an exchange, such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange, they are standardized.
They furnish the bearer with the right, but not the commitment, to purchase or sell an underlying asset.
Call options
A currency call option grants the bearer (buyer) the right, but not the commitment, to purchase the contractual currency at a preset amount or exchange rate on a predetermined close date.
A seller must fulfill the terms of the contract if compelled by the buyer.
Put options
When you sell a foreign exchange put option, you are selling the right to sell currency-you become the buyer of currency and have no other choice.
You collect the premium and must account for the buyer’s choice to exercise his option. The put option buyer has the power to sell you currency.
Forward contracts are more commonly used to cushion against risk arising from regular foreign currency inflows and outflows, while currency calls are useful for hedging contingent business occurrences.
Traditional options example
Larsen International believes that the current USDINR spot rate of 73 can reach a maximum of up to Rs 74 against the dollar in the next three months and decided to profit from such a move by buying a call option of USDINR.
Traditional options pricing theory
Option pricing theory offers an appraisal of an option’s fair worth, which investors integrate into their tactics. Suppose you want to value an option theoretically; you will need variables such as strike price, volatility, interest rate, and time to expiry.
Calculating traditional options premium
Option premiums are calculated by adding an option’s intrinsic value to its time value.
The intrinsic value of an option is the difference between the strike price and the current price of the underlying market. For call options, it is computed by subtracting the strike price from the underlying price.
For put options, the intrinsic value is deducted from the actual price.
Say you have an option to buy ABC stock for £44 when it is trading at £50. If ABC stock dropped below £44, the option’s intrinsic value would be £0.
An option’s price is conditioned by its strike price and time to expiry. The more time the underlying market has to pass the strike price, the longer an option has until it expires.
You may choose to pay extra for an option with a longer expiry date since it offers you more time to exercise at a profit.
You can calculate an option’s time value by subtracting its intrinsic value from its premium.
For example, if Alphabet Inc. stock is priced at $1,044 per share and the Alphabet Inc. $950 call option is trading at $97, the option has an intrinsic value of $94 ($1,044 – $950) and a time value of $3 ($97 – $94)
Reasons for using traditional options
- They are extremely inexpensive to trade.
- They are available for exchange or purchase.
- The risk is limited to the premium (if you are a buyer).
- Potential rewards versus risks are quite large.
- There are several techniques for speculating on volatility and price fluctuation.
Traditional options shortcomings
- A probable loss of the entire premium paid.
- An option will not trade in a one-for-one match with the underlying. Depending on the put option you purchase, if the underlying asset moves $1.00 in price, your call option may only move 70 cents, depending on the delta, which is determined by the strike price.
Spot options
Spot option is a binary options broker’s “platform supplier.” This implies that they supply the software, banking, and much else that binary options brokers give to their consumers.
Only a few platform suppliers develop the systems that most brokers utilize, and the spot option is one of the largest.
Trades may be placed with a single click, with pre-specified stop-loss and take-profit objectives and exceptionally high leverage ratios of up to 1,500.
Despite the fact that the platform lacks sophisticated capabilities, it works admirably in a variety of trading situations. Trades are completed in a matter of seconds, with no requotes or slippage.
The guaranteed stop-loss and take-profit orders eliminate the negative impacts during news trading.
Spot options pros and cons
Premiums on spot options are significantly greater than those on classic options models. If a trader correctly predicts an exchange rate, they will profit more from most traditional options contracts.
Differences between spot and options forex trading
Spot trading in the FX market entails the physical exchange of currency pairs on settlement.
If you trade the AUDUSD currency pair on the spot market, you will be asked to deliver physical Australian dollars in exchange for US dollars at the time of settlement.
Forex options trading entails the creation, purchase, and sale of a contract that binds two parties to trade a specific quantity of a currency pair at a predetermined exchange rate.
Options can be purchased and sold on a Forex options website or through a forex broker.
Conclusion
In many respects, spot forex and forex options trading are identical. Both include exchanging currency pairs on the FX market.
Both markets are concerned with anticipating future changes in currency values. And both tend to be concerned with short-term fluctuations in currency pairings.
