Project report on currency derivatives2

INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

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Institute of Management Education, Sahibabad

INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES

“By far the most significant event in finance during the past decade has been the extraordinary
development and expansion of financial derivatives…These instruments enhances the ability to
differentiate risk and allocate it to those investors most able and willing to take it- a process that has
undoubtedly improved national productivity growth and standards of livings.”

Alan Greenspan, Former
Chairman.
US Federal Reserve Bank
The past decades has witnessed the multiple growths in the volume of international trade and
business due to the wave of globalization and liberalization all over the world. As a result, the
demand for the international money and financial instruments increased significantly at the global
level. In this respect, changes in the interest rates, exchange rate and stock market prices at the
different financial market have increased the financial risks to the corporate world. It is therefore, to
manage such risks; the new financial instruments have been developed in the financial markets,
which are also popularly known as financial derivatives.

**DEFINITION OF FINANCIALDERIVATIVES**

 A word formed by derivation. It means, this word has been arisen by derivation.
 Something derived; it means that some things have to be derived or arisen out of the underlying
variables. A financial derivative is an indeed derived from the financial market.
 Derivatives are financial contracts whose value/price is independent on the behavior of the
price of one or more basic underlying assets. These contracts are legally binding agreements,
made on the trading screen of stock exchanges, to buy or sell an asset in future. These assets
can be a share, index, interest rate, bond, rupee dollar exchange rate, sugar, crude oil, soybeans,
cotton, coffee and what you have.
 A very simple example of derivatives is curd, which is derivative of milk. The price of curd
depends upon the price of milk which in turn depends upon the demand and supply of milk.

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 The Underlying Securities for Derivatives are :
 Commodities: Castor seed, Grain, Pepper, Potatoes, etc.
 Precious Metal : Gold, Silver
 Short Term Debt Securities : Treasury Bills
 Interest Rates
 Common shares/stock
 Stock Index Value : NSE Nifty
 Currency : Exchange Rate

TYPES OF FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES

Financial derivatives are those assets whose values are determined by the value of some other
assets, called as the underlying. Presently there are Complex varieties of derivatives already in
existence and the markets are innovating newer and newer ones continuously. For example,
various types of financial derivatives based on their different properties like, plain, simple or
straightforward, composite, joint or hybrid, synthetic, leveraged, mildly leveraged, OTC traded,
standardized or organized exchange traded, etc. are available in the market. Due to complexity in
nature, it is very difficult to classify the financial derivatives, so in the present context, the basic
financial derivatives which are popularly in the market have been described. In the simple form,
the derivatives can be classified into different categories which are shown below :

DERIVATIVES

Financials Commodities

Basics Complex

1. Forwards 1. Swaps
2. Futures 2.Exotics (Non STD)
3. Options
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4. Warrants and Convertibles

One form of classification of derivative instruments is between commodity derivatives and
financial derivatives. The basic difference between these is the nature of the underlying instrument
or assets. In commodity derivatives, the underlying instrument is commodity which may be wheat,
cotton, pepper, sugar, jute, turmeric, corn, crude oil, natural gas, gold, silver and so on. In financial
derivative, the underlying instrument may be treasury bills, stocks, bonds, foreign exchange, stock
index, cost of living index etc. It is to be noted that financial derivative is fairly standard and there
are no quality issues whereas in commodity derivative, the quality may be the underlying matters.

Another way of classifying the financial derivatives is into basic and complex. In this, forward
contracts, futures contracts and option contracts have been included in the basic derivatives whereas
swaps and other complex derivatives are taken into complex category because they are built up
from either forwards/futures or options contracts, or both. In fact, such derivatives are effectively
derivatives of derivatives.

 Derivatives are traded at organized exchanges and in the Over The Counter
( OTC ) market :
Derivatives Trading Forum

Organized Exchanges Over The Counter

Commodity Futures Forward Contracts
Financial Futures Swaps
Options (stock and index)
Stock Index Future

Derivatives traded at exchanges are standardized contracts having standard delivery dates and
trading units. OTC derivatives are customized contracts that enable the parties to select the trading
units and delivery dates to suit their requirements.

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A major difference between the two is that of counterparty risk—the risk of default by either
party. With the exchange traded derivatives, the risk is controlled by exchanges through clearing
house which act as a contractual intermediary and impose margin requirement. In contrast, OTC
derivatives signify greater vulnerability.

DERIVATIVES INTRODUCTION IN INDIA

The first step towards introduction of derivatives trading in India was the promulgation of the
Securities Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 1995, which withdrew the prohibition on options in
securities. SEBI set up a 24 – member committee under the chairmanship of Dr. L.C. Gupta on
November 18, 1996 to develop appropriate regulatory framework for derivatives trading in India,
submitted its report on March 17, 1998. The committee recommended that the derivatives should
be declared as ‘securities’ so that regulatory framework applicable to trading of ‘securities’ could
also govern trading of derivatives.

To begin with, SEBI approved trading in index futures contracts based on S&P CNX Nifty and
BSE-30 (Sensex) index. The trading in index options commenced in June 2001 and the trading in
options on individual securities commenced in July 2001. Futures contracts on individual stocks
were launched in November 2001.

HISTORY OF CURRENCY DERIVATIVES

Currency futures were first created at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in 1972.The
contracts were created under the guidance and leadership of Leo Melamed, CME Chairman
Emeritus. The FX contract capitalized on the U.S. abandonment of the Bretton Woods agreement,
which had fixed world exchange rates to a gold standard after World War II. The abandonment of
the Bretton Woods agreement resulted in currency values being allowed to float, increasing the risk
of doing business. By creating another type of market in which futures could be traded, CME
currency futures extended the reach of risk management beyond commodities, which were the main
derivative contracts traded at CME until then. The concept of currency futures at CME was

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revolutionary, and gained credibility through endorsement of Nobel-prize-winning economist
Milton Friedman.

Today, CME offers 41 individual FX futures and 31 options contracts on 19 currencies, all of which
trade electronically on the exchange’s CME Globex platform. It is the largest regulated marketplace
for FX trading. Traders of CME FX futures are a diverse group that includes multinational
corporations, hedge funds, commercial banks, investment banks, financial managers, commodity
trading advisors (CTAs), proprietary trading firms; currency overlay managers and individual
investors. They trade in order to transact business, hedge against unfavorable changes in currency
rates, or to speculate on rate fluctuations.

UTILITY OF CURRENCY DERIVATIVES

Currency-based derivatives are used by exporters invoicing receivables in foreign currency, willing
to protect their earnings from the foreign currency depreciation by locking the currency conversion
rate at a high level. Their use by importers hedging foreign currency payables is effective when the
payment currency is expected to appreciate and the importers would like to guarantee a lower
conversion rate. Investors in foreign currency denominated securities would like to secure strong
foreign earnings by obtaining the right to sell foreign currency at a high conversion rate, thus
defending their revenue from the foreign currency depreciation. Multinational companies use
currency derivatives being engaged in direct investment overseas. They want to guarantee the rate
of purchasing foreign currency for various payments related to the installation of a foreign branch
or subsidiary, or to a joint venture with a foreign partner.

A high degree of volatility of exchange rates creates a fertile ground for foreign exchange
speculators. Their objective is to guarantee a high selling rate of a foreign currency by obtaining a
derivative contract while hoping to buy the currency at a low rate in the future. Alternatively, they
may wish to obtain a foreign currency forward buying contract, expecting to sell the appreciating
currency at a high future rate. In either case, they are exposed to the risk of currency fluctuations in
the future betting on the pattern of the spot exchange rate adjustment consistent with their initial
expectations.

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The most commonly used instrument among the currency derivatives are currency forward
contracts. These are large notional value selling or buying contracts obtained by exporters,
importers, investors and speculators from banks with denomination normally exceeding 2 million
USD. The contracts guarantee the future conversion rate between two currencies and can be
obtained for any customized amount and any date in the future. They normally do not require a
security deposit since their purchasers are mostly large business firms and investment institutions,
although the banks may require compensating deposit balances or lines of credit. Their transaction
costs are set by spread between bank's buy and sell prices.

Exporters invoicing receivables in foreign currency are the most frequent users of these contracts.
They are willing to protect themselves from the currency depreciation by locking in the future
currency conversion rate at a high level. A similar foreign currency forward selling contract is
obtained by investors in foreign currency denominated bonds (or other securities) who want to take
advantage of higher foreign that domestic interest rates on government or corporate bonds and the
foreign currency forward premium. They hedge against the foreign currency depreciation below the
forward selling rate which would ruin their return from foreign financial investment. Investment in
foreign securities induced by higher foreign interest rates and accompanied by the forward selling
of the foreign currency income is called a covered interest arbitrage.

INTRODUCTION TO CURRENCY DERIVATIVES

Each country has its own currency through which both national and international transactions are
performed. All the international business transactions involve an exchange of one currency for
another.

For example,
If any Indian firm borrows funds from international financial market in US dollars for
short or long term then at maturity the same would be refunded in particular agreed currency along
with accrued interest on borrowed money. It means that the borrowed foreign currency brought in
the country will be converted into Indian currency, and when borrowed fund are paid to the lender
then the home currency will be converted into foreign lender’s currency. Thus, the currency units
of a country involve an exchange of one currency for another.

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The price of one currency in terms of other currency is known as exchange rate.

The foreign exchange markets of a country provide the mechanism of exchanging different
currencies with one and another, and thus, facilitating transfer of purchasing power from one
country to another.

With the multiple growths of international trade and finance all over the world, trading in foreign
currencies has grown tremendously over the past several decades. Since the exchange rates are
continuously changing, so the firms are exposed to the risk of exchange rate movements. As a
result the assets or liability or cash flows of a firm which are denominated in foreign currencies
undergo a change in value over a period of time due to variation in exchange rates.

This variability in the value of assets or liabilities or cash flows is referred to exchange rate risk.
Since the fixed exchange rate system has been fallen in the early 1970s, specifically in developed
countries, the currency risk has become substantial for many business firms. As a result, these
firms are increasingly turning to various risk hedging products like foreign currency futures, foreign
currency forwards, foreign currency options, and foreign currency swaps.

INTRODUCTION TO CURRENCY FUTURE

A futures contract is a standardized contract, traded on an exchange, to buy or sell a certain
underlying asset or an instrument at a certain date in the future, at a specified price. When the
underlying asset is a commodity, e.g. Oil or Wheat, the contract is termed a “commodity futures
contract”. When the underlying is an exchange rate, the contract is termed a “currency futures
contract”. In other words, it is a contract to exchange one currency for another currency at a
specified date and a specified rate in the future.

Therefore, the buyer and the seller lock themselves into an exchange rate for a specific value or
delivery date. Both parties of the futures contract must fulfill their obligations on the settlement
date.

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Currency futures can be cash settled or settled by delivering the respective obligation of the seller
and buyer. All settlements however, unlike in the case of OTC markets, go through the exchange.

Currency futures are a linear product, and calculating profits or losses on Currency Futures will be
similar to calculating profits or losses on Index futures. In determining profits and losses in futures
trading, it is essential to know both the contract size (the number of currency units being traded)
and also what the tick value is. A tick is the minimum trading increment or price differential at
which traders are able to enter bids and offers. Tick values differ for different currency pairs and
different underlying. For e.g. in the case of the USD-INR currency futures contract the tick size
shall be 0.25 paise or 0.0025 Rupees. To demonstrate how a move of one tick affects the price,
imagine a trader buys a contract (USD 1000 being the value of each contract) at Rs.42.2500. One
tick move on this contract will translate to Rs.42.2475 or Rs.42.2525 depending on the direction of
market movement.

Purchase price: Rs .42.2500
Price increases by one tick: +Rs. 00.0025
New price: Rs .42.2525

Purchase price: Rs .42.2500
Price decreases by one tick: –Rs. 00.0025
New price: Rs.42. 2475

The value of one tick on each contract is Rupees 2.50. So if a trader buys 5 contracts and the price
moves up by 4 tick, she makes Rupees 50.

Step 1: 42.2600 – 42.2500
Step 2: 4 ticks * 5 contracts = 20 points
Step 3: 20 points * Rupees 2.5 per tick = Rupees 50

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COMPANY PROFILE

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AnandRathi Securities Limited

AnandRathi (AR) is a leading full service securities firm providing the entire gamut of financial
services. The firm, founded in 1994 by Mr. AnandRathi, today has a pan India presence as well as an
international presence through offices in Dubai and Bangkok. AR provides a breadth of financial and
advisory services including wealth management, investment banking, corporate advisory, brokerage &
distribution of equities, commodities, mutual funds and insurance, structured products - all of which
are supported by powerful research teams.

The firm's philosophy is entirely client centric, with a clear focus on providing long term value
addition to clients, while maintaining the highest standards of excellence, ethics and professionalism.
The entire firm activities are divided across distinct client groups: Individuals, Private Clients,
Corporate and Institutions and was recently ranked by Asia Money 2006 poll amongst South Asia's top
5 wealth managers for the ultra-rich.

The offices of AnandRathi are located in 197 cities across 28 cities and it also has branches in Dubai
and Bangkok with more than 44000 employees. It has a daily turnover in excess of Rs. 4billion. It
has 1,00,000+ clients nationwide. It is also a leading Distributor of IPO's

In the year 2007 Citigroup Venture Capital International joined the group as a financial partner.

In India AnandRathi is present in 21 States:

Andhra Pradesh , Assam, Bihar , Chhattisgarh, Delhi , Goa, Gujarat, Haryana Jammu & Kashmir,
Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,
Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal.

Mission

To be India's first multinational providing complete financial services solution across the globe.

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Vision

"To be a shining example as leader in innovation and the first choice for clients & employees"

Milestones

• 1994:
Started activities in consulting and Institutional equity sales with staff of 15
• 1995:
Set up a research desk and empanelled with major institutional investors
• 1997:
Introduced investment banking businesses
Retail brokerage services launched
• 1999:
Lead managed first IPO and executed first M & A deal
• 2001:
Initiated Wealth Management Services
• 2002:
Retail business expansion recommences with ownership model
• 2003:
Wealth Management assets cross Rs1500 crores
Insurance broking launched
Launch of Wealth Management services in Dubai
Retail Branch network exceeds 50
• 2009:

Anand Rathi has been Ranked as the #1 Private Bank - Domestic in India by Asiamoney Polls
2009 and Ranked as the #2 Private Bank - Overall in India by Asiamoney Polls 2009

• 2010:

Anand Rathi Private Wealth adjudged Best Domestic Private Bank (India) by Asia Money
Polls 2010 for the second consecutive year.

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Products
• Equities I Bonds I Mutual Funds I Derivatives
• Managed Investment Services / PMS
• Commodities
• FX Trading
• Life Insurance
• General Insurance
• Alternative Assets
• - Private Equity Funds
• - Structured Products
• - Real Estate Oppurtunities Fund
• Special Situation Oppurtunities
• Offshore Structures & Global Investments

Services

• Creation of a customized financial strategy
• Diversification of assets based on a formal process of asset allocation
• Active tracking, monitoring and review of portfolios
• Creation of private trusts
• Tax planning
• Estate planning
• Structuring of family wealth

Equity & derivatives brokerage

AnandRathi provides end-to-end equity solutions to institutional and individual investors. Consistent
delivery of high quality advice on individual stocks, sector trends and investment strategy has
established us a competent and reliable research unit across the country.

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Clients can trade through us online on BSE and NSE for both equities and derivatives. They are
supported by dedicated sales & trading teams in our trading desks across the country. Research and

investment ideas can be accessed by clients either through their designated dealers, email, web or
SMS.

Mutual funds

AR is one of India's top mutual fund distribution houses. Our success lies in our philosophy of
providing consistently superior, independent and unbiased advice to our clients backed by in-depth
research. We firmly believe in the importance of selecting appropriate asset allocations based on the
client's risk profile.

We have a dedicated mutual fund research cell for mutual funds that consistently churns out superior
investment ideas, picking best performing funds across asset classes and providing insights into
performances of select funds.

Depository services

AR Depository Services provides you with a secure and convenient way for holding your securities on
both CDSL and NSDL.

Our depository services include settlement, clearing and custody of securities, registration of shares
and dematerialization. We offer you daily updated internet access to your holding statement and
transaction summary.

Commodities

Commodities broking - A whole new opportunity to hedge business risk and an attractive investment
opportunity to deliver superior returns for investors.

Our commodities broking services include online futures trading through NCDEX and MCX and
depository services through CDSL. Commodities broking is supported by a dedicated research cell
that provides both technical as well as fundamental research. Our research covers a broad range of
traded commodities including precious and base metals, Oils and Oilseeds, agri-commodities such as
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wheat, chana, guar, guar gum and spices such as sugar, jeera and cotton.

In addition to transaction execution, we provide our clients customized advice on hedging strategies,
investment ideas and arbitrage opportunities.

Insurance broking

As an insurance broker, we provide to our clients comprehensive risk management techniques, both
within the business as well as on the personal front. Risk management includes identification,
measurement and assessment of the risk and handling of the risk, of which insurance is an integral
part. The firm deals with both life insurance and general insurance products across all insurance
companies.

Our guiding philosophy is to manage the clients' entire risk set by providing the optimal level of cover
at the least possible cost. The entire sales process and product selection is research oriented and
customized to the client's needs. We lay strong emphasis on timely claim settlement and post sales
services.

IPO

AnandRathi Securities Ltd. is a leading primary market distributor across the country. Their strong
performance in IPOs has been a result of their vast experience in the Primary Market, a wide network
of branches across India, strong distribution capabilities and a dedicated research team.

They have been consistently ranked among the top 10 distributors of IPOs on all major offerings. Our
IPO research team provides clients with in-depth overviews of forthcoming IPOs as well as investment
recommendations. Online filling of forms is also available.

Global Products

• Structuring of trusts / investment companies
• Offshore Mutual Funds
• Structured Products / Deposits including capital-guaranteed notes on
• Trading in global markets (Equities, Bonds, Commodities)
• Real Estate investments
• Alternative investments (including hedge funds and fund-of-hedge funds)

Our services

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• Risk Management
• Due diligence and research on policies available
• Recommendation on a comprehensive insurance cover based on clients needs
• Maintain proper records of client policies
• Assist client in paying premiums
• Continuous monitoring of client account
• Assist client in claim negotiation and settlement.

Management Team

AR brings together a highly professional core management team that comprises of individuals with
extensive business as well as industry experience. Our senior Management comprises a diverse talent
pool that brings together rich experience from across industry as well as financial services.

Mr. Anand Rathi - Group Chairman
Chartered Accountant
Past President, BSE
Held several Senior Management positions with one of India's largest industrial groups

Mr. Pradeep Gupta - Vice Chairman
plus 17 years of experience in Financial Services

Mr. Amit Rathi - Managing Director
Chartered Accountant & MBA
plus 11 years of experience in Financial Services

Why choose AR?
• Superior understanding of the Indian economy & markets
• Ability to structure and manage your tax and regulatory compliances
• Dedicated relationship team
• Unparalleled product range - Indian and Global

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 TYPE OF RESEARCH
In this project Descriptive research methodologies were used.
The research methodology adopted for carrying out the study was at the first stage theoretical
study is attempted and at the second stage observed online trading on NSE/BSE.

 SOURCE OF DATA COLLECTION

Secondary data were used such as various books, report submitted by RBI/SEBI
committee and NCFM/BCFM modules.

 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The basic idea behind undertaking Currency Derivatives project is to gain knowledge
about currency future market.

To study the basic concept of Currency future
To study the exchange traded currency future
To understand the ways of considering currency future price.
To analyze different currency derivatives products.

 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The limitations of the study were:-
The analysis was purely based on the secondary data. So, any error in the secondary data might
also affect the study undertaken.
The currency future is new concept and topic related book was not available in library and
market.
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BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE
MARKET

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OVERVIEW OF THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET IN INDIA

During the early 1990s, India embarked on a series of structural reforms in the foreign exchange
market. The exchange rate regime, that was earlier pegged, was partially floated in March 1992 and
fully floated in March 1993. The unification of the exchange rate was instrumental in developing a
market-determined exchange rate of the rupee and was an important step in the progress towards total
current account convertibility, which was achieved in August 1994.

Although liberalization helped the Indian Forex market in various ways, it led to extensive fluctuations
of exchange rate. This issue has attracted a great deal of concern from policy-makers and investors.
While some flexibility in foreign exchange markets and exchange rate determination is desirable,
excessive volatility can have an adverse impact on price discovery, export performance, sustainability
of current account balance, and balance sheets. In the context of upgrading Indian foreign exchange
market to international standards, a well- developed foreign exchange derivative market (both OTC as
well as Exchange-traded) is imperative.

With a view to enable entities to manage volatility in the currency market, RBI on April 20, 2007
issued comprehensive guidelines on the usage of foreign currency forwards, swaps and options in the
OTC market. At the same time, RBI also set up an Internal Working Group to explore the advantages
of introducing currency futures. The Report of the Internal Working Group of RBI submitted in April
2008, recommended the introduction of Exchange Traded Currency Futures.

Subsequently, RBI and SEBI jointly constituted a Standing Technical Committee to analyze the
Currency Forward and Future market around the world and lay down the guidelines to introduce
Exchange Traded Currency Futures in the Indian market. The Committee submitted its report on May
29, 2008. Further RBI and SEBI also issued circulars in this regard on August 06, 2008.

Currently, India is a USD 34 billion OTC market, where all the major currencies like USD, EURO,
YEN, Pound, Swiss Franc etc. are traded. With the help of electronic trading and efficient risk
management systems, Exchange Traded Currency Futures will bring in more transparency and
efficiency in price discovery, eliminate counterparty credit risk, provide access to all types of market
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participants, offer standardized products and provide transparent trading platform. Banks are also
allowed to become members of this segment on the Exchange, thereby providing them with a new
opportunity.

CURRENCY DERIVATIVE PRODUCTS

Derivative contracts have several variants. The most common variants are forwards, futures,
options and swaps. We take a brief look at various derivatives contracts that have come to be used.

 FORWARD :

The basic objective of a forward market in any underlying asset is to fix a price for a contract
to be carried through on the future agreed date and is intended to free both the purchaser and
the seller from any risk of loss which might incur due to fluctuations in the price of underlying
asset.

A forward contract is customized contract between two entities, where settlement takes place
on a specific date in the future at today’s pre-agreed price. The exchange rate is fixed at the
time the contract is entered into. This is known as forward exchange rate or simply forward
rate.

 FUTURE :

A currency futures contract provides a simultaneous right and obligation to buy and sell a
particular currency at a specified future date, a specified price and a standard quantity. In
another word, a future contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a
certain time in the future at a certain price. Future contracts are special types of forward
contracts in the sense that they are standardized exchange-traded contracts.

 SWAP :

Swap is private agreements between two parties to exchange cash flows in the future according
to a prearranged formula. They can be regarded as portfolio of forward contracts. The

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currency swap entails swapping both principal and interest between the parties, with the cash
flows in one direction being in a different currency than those in the opposite direction. There
are a various types of currency swaps like as fixed-to-fixed currency swap, floating to floating
swap, fixed to floating currency swap.

In a swap normally three basic steps are involve___

(1) Initial exchange of principal amount
(2) Ongoing exchange of interest
(3) Re - exchange of principal amount on maturity.

 OPTIONS :
Currency option is a financial instrument that give the option holder a right and not the
obligation, to buy or sell a given amount of foreign exchange at a fixed price per unit for a
specified time period ( until the expiration date ). In other words, a foreign currency option is a
contract for future delivery of a specified currency in exchange for another in which buyer of
the option has to right to buy (call) or sell (put) a particular currency at an agreed price for or
within specified period. The seller of the option gets the premium from the buyer of the option
for the obligation undertaken in the contract. Options generally have lives of up to one year, the
majority of options traded on options exchanges having a maximum maturity of nine months.
Longer dated options are called warrants and are generally traded OTC.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE SPOT (CASH) MARKET

The foreign exchange spot market trades in different currencies for both spot and forward delivery.
Generally they do not have specific location, and mostly take place primarily by means of
telecommunications both within and between countries.
It consists of a network of foreign dealers which are oftenly banks, financial institutions, large
concerns, etc. The large banks usually make markets in different currencies.

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In the spot exchange market, the business is transacted throughout the world on a continual basis.
So it is possible to transaction in foreign exchange markets 24 hours a day. The standard
settlement period in this market is 48 hours, i.e., 2 days after the execution of the transaction.

The spot foreign exchange market is similar to the OTC market for securities. There is no
centralized meeting place and no fixed opening and closing time. Since most of the business in
this market is done by banks, hence, transaction usually do not involve a physical transfer of
currency, rather simply book keeping transfer entry among banks.

Exchange rates are generally determined by demand and supply force in this market. The
purchase and sale of currencies stem partly from the need to finance trade in goods and services.
Another important source of demand and supply arises from the participation of the central banks
which would emanate from a desire to influence the direction, extent or speed of exchange rate
movements.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE QUOTATIONS

Foreign exchange quotations can be confusing because currencies are quoted in terms of other
currencies. It means exchange rate is relative price.

For example,
If one US dollar is worth of Rs. 45 in Indian rupees then it implies that 45 Indian rupees
will buy one dollar of USA, or that one rupee is worth of 0.022 US dollar which is simply
reciprocal of the former dollar exchange rate.

EXCHANGE RATE

Direct Indirect

The number of units of domestic The number of unit of foreign
Currency stated against one unit currency per unit of domestic

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of foreign currency. currency.

Re/$ = 45.7250 ( or ) Re 1 = $ 0.02187
$1 = Rs. 45.7250

There are two ways of quoting exchange rates: the direct and indirect.
Most countries use the direct method. In global foreign exchange market, two rates are quoted by
the dealer: one rate for buying (bid rate), and another for selling (ask or offered rate) for a
currency. This is a unique feature of this market. It should be noted that where the bank sells
dollars against rupees, one can say that rupees against dollar. In order to separate buying and
selling rate, a small dash or oblique line is drawn after the dash.

For example,
If US dollar is quoted in the market as Rs 46.3500/3550, it means that the forex dealer
is ready to purchase the dollar at Rs 46.3500 and ready to sell at Rs 46.3550. The difference
between the buying and selling rates is called spread.

It is important to note that selling rate is always higher than the buying rate.

Traders, usually large banks, deal in two way prices, both buying and selling, are called market
makers.

Base Currency/ Terms Currency:

In foreign exchange markets, the base currency is the first currency in a currency pair. The second
currency is called as the terms currency. Exchange rates are quoted in per unit of the base currency.
That is the expression Dollar-Rupee, tells you that the Dollar is being quoted in terms of the Rupee.
The Dollar is the base currency and the Rupee is the terms currency.

Exchange rates are constantly changing, which means that the value of one currency in terms of the
other is constantly in flux. Changes in rates are expressed as strengthening or weakening of one
currency vis-à-vis the second currency.

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Changes are also expressed as appreciation or depreciation of one currency in terms of the second
currency. Whenever the base currency buys more of the terms currency, the base currency has
strengthened / appreciated and the terms currency has weakened / depreciated.

For example,
If Dollar – Rupee moved from 43.00 to 43.25. The Dollar has appreciated and the
Rupee has depreciated. And if it moved from 43.0000 to 42.7525 the Dollar has depreciated and
Rupee has appreciated.

NEED FOR EXCHANGE TRADED CURRENCY FUTURES

issued comprehensive guidelines on the usage of foreign currency forwards, swaps and options in
the OTC market. At the same time, RBI also set up an Internal Working Group to explore the
advantages of introducing currency futures. The Report of the Internal Working Group of RBI
submitted in April 2008, recommended the introduction of exchange traded currency futures.
Exchange traded futures as compared to OTC forwards serve the same economic purpose, yet differ
in fundamental ways. An individual entering into a forward contract agrees to transact at a forward
price on a future date. On the maturity date, the obligation of the individual equals the forward price
at which the contract was executed. Except on the maturity date, no money changes hands. On the
other hand, in the case of an exchange traded

futures contract, mark to market obligations is settled on a daily basis. Since the profits or losses in
the futures market are collected / paid on a daily basis, the scope for building up of mark to market
losses in the books of various participants gets limited.

The counterparty risk in a futures contract is further eliminated by the presence of a clearing
corporation, which by assuming counterparty guarantee eliminates credit risk.

Further, in an Exchange traded scenario where the market lot is fixed at a much lesser size than the
OTC market, equitable opportunity is provided to all classes of investors whether large or small to

Page | 25

participate in the futures market. The transactions on an Exchange are executed on a price time
priority ensuring that the best price is available to all categories of market participants irrespective
of their size. Other advantages of an Exchange traded market would be greater transparency,
efficiency and accessibility.

RATIONALE FOR INTRODUCING CURRENCY FUTURE

Futures markets were designed to solve the problems that exist in forward markets. A futures contract
is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a certain time in the future at a certain
price. But unlike forward contracts, the futures contracts are standardized and exchange traded. To
facilitate liquidity in the futures contracts, the exchange specifies certain standard features of the
contract. A futures contract is standardized contract with standard underlying instrument, a standard
quantity and quality of the underlying instrument that can be delivered, (or which can be used for
reference purposes in settlement) and a standard timing of such settlement. A futures contract may be
offset prior to maturity by entering into an equal and opposite transaction.

The standardized items in a futures contract are:

•Quantity of the underlying

•Quality of the underlying

•The date and the month of delivery

•The units of price quotation and minimum price change

•Location of settlement

The rationale for introducing currency futures in the Indian context has been outlined in the Report
of the Internal Working Group on Currency Futures (Reserve Bank of India, April 2008) as follows;

The rationale for establishing the currency futures market is manifold. Both residents and non-
residents purchase domestic currency assets. If the exchange rate remains unchanged from the time
of purchase of the asset to its sale, no gains and losses are made out of currency exposures. But if
domestic currency depreciates (appreciates) against the foreign currency, the exposure would result

Page | 26

in gain (loss) for residents purchasing foreign assets and loss (gain) for non residents purchasing
domestic assets. In this backdrop, unpredicted movements in exchange rates expose investors to
currency risks. Currency futures enable them to hedge these risks. Nominal exchange rates are often
random walks with or without drift, while real exchange rates over long run are mean reverting. As
such, it is possible that over a long – run, the incentive to hedge currency risk may not be large.
However, financial planning horizon is much smaller than the long-run, which is typically inter-

generational in the context of exchange rates. As such, there is a strong need to hedge currency risk
and this need has grown manifold with fast growth in cross-border trade and investments flows. The
argument for hedging currency risks appear to be natural in case of assets, and applies equally to
trade in goods and services, which results in income flows with leads and lags and get converted
into different currencies at the market rates. Empirically, changes in exchange rate are found to have
very low correlations with foreign equity and bond returns. This in theory should lower portfolio
risk. Therefore, sometimes argument is advanced against the need for hedging currency risks. But
there is strong empirical evidence to suggest that hedging reduces the volatility of returns and
indeed considering the episodic nature of currency returns, there are strong arguments to use
instruments to hedge currency risks.

FUTURE TERMINOLOGY

 SPOT PRICE :
The price at which an asset trades in the spot market. The transaction in which securities and
foreign exchange get traded for immediate delivery. Since the exchange of securities and cash
is virtually immediate, the term, cash market, has also been used to refer to spot dealing. In the
case of USDINR, spot value is T + 2.

 FUTURE PRICE :
The price at which the future contract is traded in the future market.

 CONTRACT CYCLE :

Page | 27

The period over which a contract trades. The currency future contracts in Indian market have
one month, two month, three month up to twelve month expiry cycles. In NSE/BSE will have
12 contracts outstanding at any given point in time.

 VALUE DATE / FINAL SETTELMENT DATE :
The last business day of the month will be termed the value date /final settlement date of each
contract. The last business day would be taken to the same as that for inter bank settlements in
Mumbai. The rules for inter bank settlements, including those for ‘known holidays’ and would
be those as laid down by Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India (FEDAI).

 EXPIRY DATE :
It is the date specified in the futures contract. This is the last day on which the contract will be
traded, at the end of which it will cease to exist. The last trading day will be two business days
prior to the value date / final settlement date.

 CONTRACT SIZE :
The amount of asset that has to be delivered under one contract. Also called as lot size. In case
of USDINR it is USD 1000

 BASIS :
In the context of financial futures, basis can be defined as the futures price minus the spot
price. There will be a different basis for each delivery month for each contract. In a normal
market, basis will be positive. This reflects that futures prices normally exceed spot prices.

 COST OF CARRY :
The relationship between futures prices and spot prices can be summarized in terms of what is
known as the cost of carry. This measures the storage cost plus the interest that is paid to
finance or ‘carry’ the asset till delivery less the income earned on the asset. For equity
derivatives carry cost is the rate of interest.

 INITIAL MARGIN :

Page | 28

When the position is opened, the member has to deposit the margin with the clearing house as
per the rate fixed by the exchange which may vary asset to asset. Or in another words, the
amount that must be deposited in the margin account at the time a future contract is first
entered into is known as initial margin.

 MARKING TO MARKET :
At the end of trading session, all the outstanding contracts are reprised at the settlement price
of that session. It means that all the futures contracts are daily settled, and profit and loss is
determined on each transaction. This procedure, called marking to market, requires that funds
charge every day. The funds are added or subtracted from a mandatory margin (initial margin)
that traders are required to maintain the balance in the account. Due to this adjustment, futures
contract is also called as daily reconnected forwards.

 MAINTENANCE MARGIN :
Member’s account are debited or credited on a daily basis. In turn customers’ account are also
required to be maintained at a certain level, usually about 75 percent of the initial margin, is
called the maintenance margin. This is somewhat lower than the initial margin.

This is set to ensure that the balance in the margin account never becomes negative. If the
balance in the margin account falls below the maintenance margin, the investor receives a
margin call and is expected to top up the margin account to the initial margin level before
trading commences on the next day.

USES OF CURRENCY FUTURES

 Hedging:

Presume Entity A is expecting a remittance for USD 1000 on 27 August ‘08 wants to lock in
the foreign exchange rate today so that the value of inflow in Indian rupee terms is
Page | 29

safeguarded. The entity can do so by selling one contract of USDINR futures since one
contract is for USD 1000.

Presume that the current spot rate is Rs.43 and ‘USDINR 27 Aug 08’ contract is trading at
Rs.44.2500. Entity A shall do the following:

Sell one August contract today. The value of the contract is Rs.44,250.

Let us assume the RBI reference rate on August 27, 2008 is Rs.44.0000. The entity shall sell
on August 27, 2008, USD 1000 in the spot market and get Rs. 44,000. The futures contract
will settle at Rs.44.0000 (final settlement price = RBI reference rate).

The return from the futures transaction would be Rs. 250, i.e. (Rs. 44,250 – Rs. 44,000). As
may be observed, the effective rate for the remittance received by the entity A is Rs.44. 2500
(Rs.44,000 + Rs.250)/1000, while spot rate on that date was Rs.44.0000. The entity was able
to hedge its exposure.

 Speculation: Bullish, buy futures
Take the case of a speculator who has a view on the direction of the market. He would like to
trade based on this view. He expects that the USD-INR rate presently at Rs.42, is to go up in
the next two-three months. How can he trade based on this belief? In case he can buy dollars
and hold it, by investing the necessary capital, he can profit if say the Rupee depreciates to
Rs.42.50. Assuming he buys USD 10000, it would require an investment of Rs.4,20,000. If
the exchange rate moves as he expected in the next three months, then he shall make a profit
of around Rs.10000. This works out to an annual return of around 4.76%. It may please be
noted that the cost of funds invested is not considered in computing this return.

A speculator can take exactly the same position on the exchange rate by using futures
contracts. Let us see how this works. If the INR- USD is Rs.42 and the three month futures
trade at Rs.42.40. The minimum contract size is USD 1000. Therefore the speculator may buy
10 contracts. The exposure shall be the same as above USD 10000. Presumably, the margin may
be around Rs.21, 000. Three months later if the Rupee depreciates to Rs. 42.50 against USD, (on
the day of expiration of the contract), the futures price shall converge to the spot price (Rs. 42.50)

Page | 30

and he makes a profit of Rs.1000 on an investment of Rs.21, 000. This works out to an annual
return of 19 percent. Because of the leverage they provide, futures form an attractive option for
speculators.

 Speculation: Bearish, sell futures
Futures can be used by a speculator who believes that an underlying is over-valued and is likely to
see a fall in price. How can he trade based on his opinion? In the absence of a deferral product,
there wasn't much he could do to profit from his opinion. Today all he needs to do is sell the
futures.

Let us understand how this works. Typically futures move correspondingly with the underlying, as
long as there is sufficient liquidity in the market. If the underlying price rises, so will the futures
price. If the underlying price falls, so will the futures price. Now take the case of the trader who
expects to see a fall in the price of USD-INR. He sells one two-month contract of futures on
USD say at Rs. 42.20 (each contact for USD 1000). He pays a small margin on the same. Two
months later, when the futures contract expires, USD-INR rate let us say is Rs.42. On the day of
expiration, the spot and the futures price converges. He has made a clean profit of 20 paise per
dollar. For the one contract that he sold, this works out to be Rs.2000.

 Arbitrage:

Arbitrage is the strategy of taking advantage of difference in price of the same or similar
product between two or more markets. That is, arbitrage is striking a combination of matching
deals that capitalize upon the imbalance, the profit being the difference between the market
prices. If the same or similar product is traded in say two different markets, any entity which has
access to both the markets will be able to identify price differentials, if any. If in one of the
markets the product is trading at higher price, then the entity shall buy the product in the

Page | 31

cheaper market and sell in the costlier market and thus benefit from the price differential
without any additional risk.

One of the methods of arbitrage with regard to USD-INR could be a trading strategy between
forwards and futures market. As we discussed earlier, the futures price and forward prices are
arrived at using the principle of cost of carry. Such of those entities who can trade both forwards
and futures shall be able to identify any mis-pricing between forwards and futures. If one of
them is priced higher, the same shall be sold while simultaneously buying the other which is
priced lower. If the tenor of both the contracts is same, since both forwards and futures shall be
settled at the same RBI reference rate, the transaction shall result in a risk less profit.

TRADING PROCESS AND SETTLEMENT PROCESS

Like other future trading, the future currencies are also traded at organized exchanges. The
following diagram shows how operation take place on currency future market:

Page | 32

TRADER TRADER
( BUYER ) ( SELLER )

Purchase order Sales order

Transaction on the floor (Exchange)
MEMBER MEMBER
( BROKER ) ( BROKER )

Informs

CLEARING
HOUSE

It has been observed that in most futures markets, actual physical delivery of the underlying assets is
very rare and it hardly ranges from 1 percent to 5 percent. Most often buyers and sellers offset their
original position prior to delivery date by taking an opposite positions. This is because most of futures
contracts in different products are predominantly speculative instruments. For example, X purchases
American Dollar futures and Y sells it. It leads to two contracts, first, X party and clearing house and
second Y party and clearing house. Assume next day X sells same contract to Z, then X is out of the
picture and the clearing house is seller to Z and buyer from Y, and hence, this process is goes on.

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR CURRENCY FUTURES

issued comprehensive guidelines on the usage of foreign currency forwards,

Page | 33

swaps and options in the OTC market. At the same time, RBI also set up an Internal Working Group to
explore the advantages of introducing currency futures. The Report of the Internal Working Group of
RBI submitted in April 2008, recommended the introduction of exchange traded currency futures.
With the expected benefits of exchange traded currency futures, it was decided in a joint meeting of
RBI and SEBI on February 28, 2008, that an RBI-SEBI Standing Technical Committee on Exchange
Traded Currency and Interest Rate Derivatives would be constituted. To begin with, the Committee
would evolve norms and oversee the implementation of Exchange traded currency futures. The Terms
of Reference to the Committee was as under:

1. To coordinate the regulatory roles of RBI and SEBI in regard to trading of Currency and
Interest Rate Futures on the Exchanges.

2. To suggest the eligibility norms for existing and new Exchanges for Currency and Interest Rate
Futures trading.

3. To suggest eligibility criteria for the members of such exchanges.

4. To review product design, margin requirements and other risk mitigation measures on an
ongoing basis.

5. To suggest surveillance mechanism and dissemination of market information.

6. To consider microstructure issues, in the overall interest of financial stability.

COMPARISION OF FORWARD AND FUTURES CURRENCY CONTRACT

BASIS FORWARD FUTURES
Size Structured as per requirement Standardized
of the parties
Delivery Tailored on individual needs Standardized

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date
Method of Established by the bank or Open auction among buyers and seller on the
transaction broker through electronic floor of recognized exchange.
media
Participants Banks, brokers, forex dealers, Banks, brokers, multinational companies,
multinational companies, institutional investors, small traders,
institutional investors, speculators, arbitrageurs, etc.
arbitrageurs, traders, etc.
Margins None as such, but Margin deposit required
compensating bank balanced
may be required
Maturity Tailored to needs: from one Standardized
week to 10 years
Settlement Actual delivery or offset with Daily settlement to the market and variation
cash settlement. No separate margin requirements
clearing house
Market Over the telephone worldwide At recognized exchange floor with worldwide
place and computer networks communications
Accessibility Limited to large customers Open to any one who is in need of hedging
banks, institutions, etc. facilities or has risk capital to speculate
Delivery More than 90 percent settled Actual delivery has very less even below one
by actual delivery percent
Secured Risk is high being less secured Highly secured through margin deposit.

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ANALYSIS

INTEREST RATE PARITY PRINCIPLE

For currencies which are fully convertible, the rate of exchange for any date other than spot is a
function of spot and the relative interest rates in each currency. The assumption is that, any funds
held will be invested in a time deposit of that currency. Hence, the forward rate is the rate which
neutralizes the effect of differences in the interest rates in both the currencies. The forward rate is
a function of the spot rate and the interest rate differential between the two currencies, adjusted for
time. In the case of fully convertible currencies, having no restrictions on borrowing or lending of
either currency the forward rate can be calculated as follows;
Page | 36

Future Rate = (spot rate) {1 + interest rate on home currency * period} /
{1 + interest rate on foreign currency * period}

For example,
Assume that on January 10, 2002, six month annual interest rate was 7 percent p.a.
on Indian rupee and US dollar six month rate was 6 percent p.a. and spot ( Re/$ ) exchange rate
was 46.3500. Using the above equation the theoretical future price on January 10, 2002, expiring
on June 9, 2002 is: the answer will be Rs.46.7908 per dollar. Then, this theoretical price is
compared with the quoted futures price on January 10, 2002 and the relationship is observed.

Page | 37

PRODUCT DEFINITIONS OF CURRENCY FUTURE ON NSE/BSE

Underlying
Initially, currency futures contracts on US Dollar – Indian Rupee (US$-INR) would be
permitted.

Trading Hours
The trading on currency futures would be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Size of the contract
The minimum contract size of the currency futures contract at the time of introduction would
be US$ 1000. The contract size would be periodically aligned to ensure that the size of the
contract remains close to the minimum size.

Quotation
The currency futures contract would be quoted in rupee terms. However, the outstanding
positions would be in dollar terms.

Tenor of the contract
The currency futures contract shall have a maximum maturity of 12 months.

Available contracts
All monthly maturities from 1 to 12 months would be made available.

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Settlement mechanism

The currency futures contract shall be settled in cash in Indian Rupee.

Settlement price
The settlement price would be the Reserve Bank Reference Rate on the date of expiry. The
methodology of computation and dissemination of the Reference Rate may be publicly
disclosed by RBI.
Final settlement day
The currency futures contract would expire on the last working day (excluding Saturdays) of
the month. The last working day would be taken to be the same as that for Interbank
Settlements in Mumbai. The rules for Interbank Settlements, including those for ‘known
holidays’ and ‘subsequently declared holiday’ would be those as laid down by FEDAI.

The contract specification in a tabular form is as under:

Underlying Rate of exchange between one USD and
INR
Trading Hours 09:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m.
(Monday to Friday)
Contract Size USD 1000
Tick Size 0.25 paisa or INR 0.0025
Trading Period Maximum expiration period of 12 months
Contract Months 12 near calendar months
Final Settlement date/ Last working day of the month (subject to
Value date holiday calendars)
Last Trading Day Two working days prior to Final Settlement
Date
Settlement Cash settled

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Final Settlement Price
The reference rate fixed by RBI two
working days prior to the final settlement
date will be used for final settlement

CURRENCY FUTURES PAYOFFS

A payoff is the likely profit/loss that would accrue to a market participant with change in the
price of the underlying asset. This is generally depicted in the form of payoff diagrams which
show the price of the underlying asset on the X-axis and the profits/losses on the Y-axis.
Futures contracts have linear payoffs. In simple words, it means that the losses as well as
profits for the buyer and the seller of a futures contract are unlimited. Options do not have
linear payoffs. Their pay offs are non-linear. These linear payoffs are fascinating as they can
be combined with options and the underlying to generate various complex payoffs. However,
currently only payoffs of futures are discussed as exchange traded foreign currency options
are not permitted in India.

Payoff for buyer of futures: Long futures
The payoff for a person who buys a futures contract is similar to the payoff for a person who
holds an asset. He has a potentially unlimited upside as well as a potentially unlimited
downside. Take the case of a speculator who buys a two-month currency futures contract
when the USD stands at say Rs.43.19. The underlying asset in this case is the currency, USD.
When the value of dollar moves up, i.e. when Rupee depreciates, the long futures position
starts making profits, and when the dollar depreciates, i.e. when rupee appreciates, it start
making losses. Figure 4.1 shows the payoff diagram for the buyer of a futures contract.

Payoff for buyer of future:

The figure shows the profits/losses for a long futures position. The investor bought
futures when the USD was at Rs.43.19. If the price goes up, his futures position
starts making profit. If the price falls, his futures position starts showing losses.

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P
R
O
F
I
T

43.19

0
USD
L
O
S
S

Payoff for seller of futures: Short futures

The payoff for a person who sells a futures contract is similar to the payoff for a person who
shorts an asset. He has a potentially unlimited upside as well as a potentially unlimited
downside. Take the case of a speculator who sells a two month currency futures contract
when the USD stands at say Rs.43.19. The underlying asset in this case is the currency, USD.
When the value of dollar moves down, i.e. when rupee appreciates, the short futures position
starts 25 making profits, and when the dollar appreciates, i.e. when rupee depreciates, it starts
making losses. The Figure below shows the payoff diagram for the seller of a futures
contract.

Payoff for seller of future:
The figure shows the profits/losses for a short futures position. The investor sold futures
when the USD was at 43.19. If the price goes down, his futures position starts making
profit. If the price rises, his futures position starts showing losses

Page | 41

P
R
O
F
I
T

43.19

0
USD
L
O
S
S

PRICING FUTURES – COST OF CARRY MODEL

Pricing of futures contract is very simple. Using the cost-of-carry logic, we calculate the fair
value of a futures contract. Every time the observed price deviates from the fair value,
arbitragers would enter into trades to capture the arbitrage profit. This in turn would push the
futures price back to its fair value.

The cost of carry model used for pricing futures is given below:

F=Se^(r-rf)T
where:
r=Cost of financing (using continuously compounded interest rate)
rf= one year interest rate in foreign
T=Time till expiration in years
E=2.71828

Page | 42

The relationship between F and S then could be given as

F Se^(r rf )T - =

This relationship is known as interest rate parity relationship and is used in international
finance. To explain this, let us assume that one year interest rates in US and India are say 7%
and 10% respectively and the spot rate of USD in India is Rs. 44.

From the equation above the one year forward exchange rate should be
F = 44 * e^(0.10-0.07 )*1=45.34

It may be noted from the above equation, if foreign interest rate is greater than the domestic
rate i.e. rf > r, then F shall be less than S. The value of F shall decrease further as time T
increase. If the foreign interest is lower than the domestic rate, i.e. rf < r, then value of F shall
be greater than S. The value of F shall increase further as time T increases.

HEDGING WITH CURENCY FUTURES

Exchange rates are quite volatile and unpredictable, it is possible that anticipated profit in
foreign investment may be eliminated, rather even may incur loss. Thus, in order to hedge
this foreign currency risk, the traders’ oftenly use the currency futures. For example, a long
hedge (I.e.., buying currency futures contracts) will protect against a rise in a foreign
currency value whereas a short hedge (i.e., selling currency futures contracts) will protect
against a decline in a foreign currency’s value.

It is noted that corporate profits are exposed to exchange rate risk in many situation. For
example, if a trader is exporting or importing any particular product from other countries then
he is exposed to foreign exchange risk.

Page | 43

Similarly, if the firm is borrowing or lending or investing for short or long period from
foreign countries, in all these situations, the firm’s profit will be affected by change in foreign
exchange rates. In all these situations, the firm can take long or short position in futures
currency market as per requirement.

The general rule for determining whether a long or short futures position will hedge a
potential foreign exchange loss is:
Loss from appreciating in Indian rupee= Short hedge
Loss form depreciating in Indian rupee= Long hedge

The choice of underlying currency

The first important decision in this respect is deciding the currency in which futures contracts
are to be initiated. For example, an Indian manufacturer wants to purchase some raw
materials from Germany then he would like future in German mark since his exposure in
straight forward in mark against home currency (Indian rupee). Assume that there is no such
future (between rupee and mark) available in the market then the trader would choose among
other currencies for the hedging in futures. Which contract should he choose? Probably he
has only one option rupee with dollar. This is called cross hedge.

Choice of the maturity of the contract

The second important decision in hedging through currency futures is selecting the currency
which matures nearest to the need of that currency. For example, suppose Indian importer
import raw material of 100000 USD on 1st November 2008. And he will have to pay 100000
USD on 1st February 2009. And he predicts that the value of USD will increase against Indian
rupees nearest to due date of that payment. Importer predicts that the value of USD will
increase more than 51.0000.

Page | 44

So what he will do to protect against depreciating in Indian rupee? Suppose spots value of 1
USD is 49.8500. Future Value of the 1USD on NSE as below:
Price Watch

Page | 45

Order
Book

Contract
Best
Buy Qty
Best
Buy
Price
Best
Sell
Price
Best
Sell Qty
LTP
Volume
Open
Interest

USDINR
261108
464
49.8550
49.8575
712
49.8550
58506
43785

USDINR
291208
189
49.6925
49.7000
612
49.7300
176453
111830

USDINR

Page | 46

Solution:

He should buy ten contract of USDINR 28012009 at the rate of 49.8850. Value of the
contract is (49.8850*1000*100) =4988500. (Value of currency future per USD*contract
size*No of contract).
For that he has to pay 5% margin on 5988500. Means he will have to pay Rs.299425 at
present.

And suppose on settlement day the spot price of USD is 51.0000. On settlement date payoff
of importer will be (51.0000-59.8850) =1.115 per USD. And (1.115*100000) =Rs. 111500.

Choice of the number of contracts (hedging ratio)

Another important decision in this respect is to decide hedging ratio HR. The value of the
futures position should be taken to match as closely as possible the value of the cash market
position. As we know that in the futures markets due to their standardization, exact match
will generally not be possible but hedge ratio should be as close to unity as possible. We may
define the hedge ratio HR as follows:

HR= VF / Vc
Where, VF is the value of the futures position and Vc is the value of the cash position.
Suppose value of contract dated 28th January 2009 is 49.8850.
And spot value is 49.8500.
HR=49.8850/49.8500=1.001.

FINDINGS

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 Cost of carry model and Interest rate parity model are useful tools to find out standard
future price and also useful for comparing standard with actual future price. And it’s
also a very help full in Arbitraging.

 New concept of Exchange traded currency future trading is regulated by higher
authority and regulatory. The whole function of Exchange traded currency future is
regulated by SEBI/RBI, and they established rules and regulation so there is very safe
trading is emerged and counter party risk is minimized in currency Future trading.
And also time reduced in Clearing and Settlement process up to T+1 day’s basis.

 Larger exporter and importer has continued to deal in the OTC counter, even
exchange traded currency future is available in markets.

 There is a limit of USD 100 million on open interest applicable to trading member
who are banks. And the USD 25 million limit for other trading members so larger
exporter and importer might continue to deal in the OTC market where there is no
limit on hedges.

 In India RBI and SEBI has restricted other currency derivatives except Currency
future, at this time if any person wants to use other instrument of currency derivatives
in this case he has to use OTC.

SUGGESTIONS

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 Currency Future need to change some restriction it imposed such as cut off limit
of 5 million USD, Ban on NRI’s and FII’s and Mutual Funds from Participating.

 Now in exchange traded currency future segment only one pair USD-INR is
available to trade so there is also one more demand by the exporters and
importers to introduce another pair in currency trading. Like POUND-INR,
CAD-INR etc.

 In OTC there is no limit for trader to buy or short Currency futures so there
demand arises that in Exchange traded currency future should have increase limit
for Trading Members and also at client level, in result OTC users will divert to
Exchange traded currency Futures.

 In India the regulatory of Financial and Securities market (SEBI) has Ban on
other Currency Derivatives except Currency Futures, so this restriction seem
unreasonable to exporters and importers. And according to Indian financial
growth now it’s become necessary to introducing other currency derivatives in
Exchange traded currency derivative segment.

CONCLUSIONS

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By far the most significant event in finance during the past decade has been the extraordinary
development and expansion of financial derivatives…These instruments enhances the
ability to differentiate risk and allocate it to those investors most able and willing to take it- a
process that has undoubtedly improved national productivity growth and standards of livings.

The currency future gives the safe and standardized contract to its investors and individuals
who are aware about the forex market or predict the movement of exchange rate so they will
get the right platform for the trading in currency future. Because of exchange traded future
contract and its standardized nature gives counter party risk minimized.

Initially only NSE had the permission but now BSE and MCX has also started currency
future. It is shows that how currency future covers ground in the compare of other available
derivatives instruments. Not only big businessmen and exporter and importers use this but
individual who are interested and having knowledge about forex market they can also invest
in currency future.

Exchange between USD-INR markets in India is very big and these exchange traded contract
will give more awareness in market and attract the investors.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Financial Derivatives (theory, concepts and problems) By: S.L. Gupta.
NCFM: Currency future Module.
BCFM: Currency Future Module.
Center for social and economic research) Poland
Recent Development in International Currency Derivative Market by: Lucjan T. Orlowski)
Report of the RBI-SEBI standing technical committee on exchange traded currency futures)
2008
Report of the Internal Working Group on Currency Futures (Reserve Bank of India, April
2008)

Websites:
www.sebi.gov.in
www.rbi.org.in
www.frost.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.economywatch.com
www.bseindia.com
www.nseindia.com

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Project report on currency derivatives2

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