Introduction
The
following facts and figures relate to the foreign exchange market. Most
of the information comes from the Triennial Central Bank Survey of
Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity conducted by the Bank
for International Settlements (BIS) in April 2004, and published in
March 2005. 52 central banks and monetary authorities participated in
the survey, collecting information from approximately 1200 market
participants.
Structure
- Decentralised, over-the-counter market, also known as the 'interbank' market
- Main participants: Central Banks, commercial and investment banks, hedge funds, pension funds, corporations & private speculators
- The free-floating currency system began in 1973, and was officially mandated in 1978
- Online trading began in the mid to late 1990's
Trading Hours
- 24 hour market
- Sunday 5pm EST through Friday 4pm EST. Rollover at 5pm EST
- Trading begins in New Zealand, followed by Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and America
