FXO Market Update - Apr 13

Vols are trading lower in FX as yields have stabilized after a strong rally during the first quarter and the stronger USD trend that we saw during the first months of the year has come to a halt. USD has traded weaker over the last weeks but has not been able to build any momentum and spot has generally been range trading over the last sessions.

CHF has traded stronger over the last week which in combination with a weaker dollar has made USDCHF drop over 2%. Spot has traded back to the top of the old range that we saw from August last year to February when the CHF sell-off started.

USDCHF 1 month trades at 6.4 vol, compared to a low of 5.4 vol in middle of February. USDCHF 1 month vol trades 0.7 vol over EURUSD and we usually don’t see this big of premium last too long. CHF had a quite aggressive move at the end of February and spot has now reversed about half of that move. We expect vol to come lower and the spread against EURUSD vol to come in with spot almost back to the low vol range we saw from August to February.

Sell 1 month 0.9100 USDCHF put
Receive 18 pips

Sell 1 month 0.9400 USDCHF call
Receive 16 pips

Spot ref.: 0.9250

• The Top/Bottom charts shows the top 5 and bottom 5 values/changes for at-the-money vol, risk reversal (RR) and risk premium of the 45 currency pairs we are tracking.
• Risk premium: Implied (Imp) minus realized volatility. A positive risk premium means implied volatility trades above realized volatility, i.e. the implied volatility can be seen as “rich”.
• Change: The difference between current price/volatility and where it closed 1w ago.

FX Options Trading:

You should be aware that in purchasing Foreign Exchange Options, your potential loss will be the amount of the premium paid for the option, plus any fees or transaction charges that are applicable, should the option not achieve its strike price on the expiry date

If you write an option, the risk involved is considerably higher than buying an option. You may be liable for margin to maintain your position and a loss may be sustained well in excess of the premium received.

By writing an option, you accept a legal obligation to purchase or sell the underlying asset if the option is exercised against you; however far the market price has moved away from the strike. If you already own the underlying asset that you have contracted to sell, your risk will be limited.

If you do not own the underlying asset the risk can be unlimited. Only experienced persons should contemplate writing uncovered options, then only after securing full detail of the applicable conditions and potential risk exposure.

Learn more about FX Options:

Forex Options – An introduction

Forex Options – Exotic options