Forex Glossary
Explore forex terms and their explanations. Click a letter to navigate.
Account deficit
A negative balance of trade or payments.
Accrual
The apportionment of premiums and discounts on forward exchange transactions that relate directly to deposit swap (interest arbitrage) deals, over the period of each deal.
Adjustment
An adjustment can be defined as the impact of a company paying out dividends on the ex-date. The share price takes a slight dip because money flows out of the company and to the shareholders. The dividend adjustment occurs at the close of business before the ex-dividend date.
Appreciation
Appreciation is defined as the increase in an asset’s price over time. Capital appreciation refers to the price increase of financial assets such as property, pensions, commodities, etc. The stock price and perceived value of a quoted company might appreciate due to the company’s improved financial performance, investor confidence, and speculation. Alternatively, the stock price could depreciate if performance worsens affecting investor sentiment.
Arbitrage
Arbitrage describes the practice of buying and selling an asset in order to profit from a difference in the asset's price between markets. It is a trade that profits by exploiting the price differences of identical or similar financial instruments in different markets.
Asian Central Banks
Asian Central Banks are the monetary authorities of Asian countries. These institutions have been increasingly active in major currencies as they manage growing pools of foreign currency reserves arising from trade surpluses. Their market interest can be substantial and influence currency direction in the short-term.
Asian session
23:00 – 08:00 GMT.
Ask price
The ask price, ask, or offer price is the price a seller will accept for a security. An ask quote often stipulates the amount of the asset available at the stated price. The ask price is the opposite of the bid price, which is what a buyer will pay for a security – the ask is always higher than the bid.
At best
An instruction given to a dealer to buy or sell at the best rate that can be obtained at a specific time.
At or Better
An instruction given to a dealer to buy or sell at a specific price or better.
AUS 200
A term for the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX 200), which is an index of the top 200 companies by market capitalization listed on the Australian stock exchange.
Aussie
Refers to the AUD/USD (Australian Dollar/U.S. Dollar) pair. Also known as ‘Oz’ or ‘Ozzie’.