Investors and Speculators

Investors and speculators require currency exchange whenever they trade in any foreign investment, be it equities, bonds, bank deposits, or real estate. For example, when a Swedish investor buys shares in Sun Microsystems on the NASDAQ, she will have to pay for the shares in U.S. Dollars and likely have to convert Swedish Krona to U.S. Dollars. Similarly, a Japanese real estate investor who sells a New York property may want to convert the proceeds of the sale in U.S. Dollars to Japanese Yen.Investors and speculators also trade currencies directly in order to benefit from movements in the currency exchange markets. For example, if an American investor believes that the Japanese economy is strengthening and as a result expects the Japanese Yen to appreciate in value (i.e., go up relative to other currencies), then she may want to buy Japanese Yen and take what is referred to as a long position. Similarly, if an American investor believes that the Euro will go down over time, then she may want to sell Euro to take a short position. Interestingly, investors and speculators can profit equally from currencies becoming stronger (by taking a long position) or from currencies becoming weaker (by taking a short position).Speculators are often day traders, trying to take advantage of market movements in very short time periods; buying a currency and then selling it again within hours or even minutes. They are attracted to currency trading for numerous reasons, including (i) the size and daily volatility of the market, which provides some individuals with an unparalleled level of excitement, (ii) the almost perfect liquidity of the currency exchange market, (iii) the fact that the currency exchange market is "open" 24 hours a day, and (vi) the fact that currencies can be traded with no brokerage charges.