FAQ

G7

The group of seven countries with the largest advanced economies in the world. Currently consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United States and the European Union.

Good Till Cancelled (GTC)

An order, such as a Stop Loss and Limit Order, left with a dealer to buy or sell at a fixed price and which will remain in place until it is executed or cancelled by the client.

Greenback

Market slang for the US Dollar.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Total value of a country's output, income or expenditure produced within the country's physical borders.

Hawkish

A tone of language used to describe a situation that is seen to be aggressive.

Hedging

A hedging transaction is one that protects an asset or liability against a fluctuation in the foreign exchange rate. Instruments used are varied and include forwards, futures, options and combinations of all of them. For commercial foreign exchange deals the most common hedging tool is the Forward Contract.

IBAN

Acronym for International Bank Account Number. It is a standardised means of identifying bank accounts used for European cross-border payments.

Indicative Quote

A dealer's price that is not firm so can't be dealt on.

Indirect Currency

A currency that is normally quoted as Dollars per unit of currency rather than the normal quote method of units of currency per Dollar. Pounds sterling is the most common example; 1 Pound buys 1.8000 US Dollars.

Industrial Production Index

A coincident indicator measuring physical output of manufacturing, mining and utilities.

Inflation

An economic condition reflecting a continued rise in the general price level in conjunction with a related drop in purchasing power.

Instruction

The specification of the banks at which funds shall be paid upon settlement.

Interbank Broker

A specialist broker who acts as an intermediary between market makers who wish to buy or sell FX, without revealing their identities to other market makers.

Interbank Rates

The foreign exchange rates at which international banks trade currencies with each other. The basis of the Interbank market.

Lagging Indicator

A measure of economic activity that tends to change after change has occurred in the overall economy e.g. Consumer Price Index (CPI).

LIBOR

London Interbank Offered Rate.

Liquidity

The ability of a market to accept large transactions with no impact on price stability.

Left-hand Side

Taking the left hand side of a two way quote i.e. selling the quoted currency.