外匯(FX)入門

Overview: 

IB提供的交易場所和交易平臺既適用於專注外匯交易的交易者也適用於因多幣種股票和/或衍生品交易需要偶爾進行外匯交易的交易者。下方文章概述了在TWS平臺上下達外匯定單的基本要點以及報價管理和頭寸報告相關信息。

Background: 

外匯(FX)交易涉及同時買入一種貨幣並賣出另一種貨幣,兩種貨幣組合在一起通常被稱為交叉貨幣對。在下方例子中,EUR.USD交叉貨幣對中的前一種貨幣(EUR)為交易者想買入或賣出的交易貨幣,後一種貨幣(USD)則為結算貨幣

 

跳轉至指定主題;

 

外匯報價

貨幣對即外匯市場上一種貨幣單位相對於另一種貨幣單位的相對價值的報價。用以作為參考的貨幣被稱為報價貨幣,而參考該貨幣給出報價的貨幣則被稱為基礎貨幣。在TWS中,每個貨幣對有一個交易代碼。您可以使用外匯交易者(FXTrader)調換報價方向。交易者買入或賣出基礎貨幣的同時在賣出或買入報價貨幣。例如,EUR/USD貨幣對的代碼為:

EUR.USD

其中:

  • EUR為基礎貨幣
  • USD為報價貨幣

上方貨幣對的價格表示需要多少單位的USD(報價貨幣)能交易一個單位的EUR(基礎貨幣)。也就是說,1 EUR是在按USD報價。

EUR.USD的單表示買入EUR並賣出同等金額的USD,具體取決於交易價格。

 

創建報價行

 
在TWS添加外匯報價行具體步驟如下:
1.  輸入交易貨幣(如EUR),然後按回車鍵(enter)。
2.  選擇產品類型——外匯   

3.  選擇結算貨幣(如USD),然後選擇外匯交易場所。

 

 

注:

IDEALFX對於超過其最低數量要求(通常為25,000美元)的定單可直接接入銀行間外匯報價。傳遞到IDEALFX但未達到其最低數量要求的定單基本會被自動傳遞到小額定單交易場所進行外匯轉換。點擊此處瞭解IDEALFX的最低數量要求和最高數量限制相關信息。 

外匯交易商會按特定方向對外匯貨幣對進行報價。因此,交易者需通過調整輸入的貨幣代碼來查找想要的貨幣對。例如,如果輸入貨幣代碼CAD,交易者會發現合約選擇窗口中沒有結算貨幣USD。這是因為,該貨幣對是按USD.CAD報價的,只能先輸入底層代碼USD,然後再選擇貨幣對。


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下單

 

具體取決於顯示的欄標頭,貨幣對將顯示如下:
合約(Contract)描述(Description)欄將按交易貨幣.結算貨幣的形式顯示貨幣對(如EUR.USD)。底層代碼(Underlying)欄則只顯示交易貨幣。

點擊此處瞭解如何更改更改顯示的數據欄標頭。


 

1.  要輸入定單,左鍵點擊買價(下賣單)或賣價(下買單).

2.  指定想要買入或賣出的交易貨幣的數量。定單的數量基礎貨幣(即貨幣對中的前一種貨幣)顯示。

盈透證券在外匯交易上沒有代表固定金額基礎貨幣的合約的概念,您的交易尺寸便是所需交易的基礎貨幣金額。

例如,100,000單位EUR.USD的買單會買入100,000單位EUR,並根據顯示的匯率賣出等值USD。

3.  指定想使用的定單類型、匯率(價格),然後傳遞定單。

注:下達的定單必須是完整的貨幣單位,除上述交易場所最低數量要求外,沒有最低合約或手數要求。

常見問題:如何使用外匯交易者(FX Trader)下單?

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點值

點(pip)是貨幣對變化的衡量單位,對於大多數貨幣對來說其代表最小變化,但有時也允許存在非整點的變化。

例如,在EUR.USD中,1個點是0.0001,而在USD.JPY中,1個點事0.01。

要計算報價貨幣1個點的點值,可採用以下公式:

(名義金額) x (1個點)

例如:

  • 代碼 = EUR.USD
  • 金額 = 100,000 EUR
  • 1個點 = 0.0001

1個點點值 = 100’000 x 0.0001= 10 USD

  • 代碼 = USD.JPY
  • 金額 = 100’000 USD
  • 1個點 = 0.01

1個點點值 = 100’000 x (0.01)= JPY 1000

要計算基礎貨幣1個點的點值,可採用以下公式:

(名義金額) x (1個點/匯率)

例如:

  • 代碼 = EUR.USD
  • 金額 = 100’000 EUR
  • 1個點 = 0.0001
  • 匯率 = 1.3884

1個點點值 = 100’000 x (0.0001/1.3884)= 7.20 EUR

  • 代碼 = USD.JPY
  • 金額 = 100’000 USD
  • 1個點 = 0.01
  • 匯率 = 101.63

1個點點值 = 100’000 x (0.01/101.63)= 9.84 USD

 

頭寸(交易後)報告

 

外匯頭寸信息是在IB進行交易的一個重要方面,在真實賬戶中開始交易之前需對其進行充分瞭解。IB的交易軟件在兩個不同的地方反映了外匯頭寸,二者均可在賬戶窗口查看。

 

1. 市場價值

賬戶窗口的市場價值部分反映的是實時貨幣頭寸,按貨幣(而非貨幣對)顯示。 

賬戶窗口的市場價值部分是唯一一個可供交易者查看實時外匯頭寸信息的地方。持有多種貨幣頭寸的交易者不一定要使用開倉時用的貨幣對來平倉。例如,買了EUR.USD(買EUR賣USD)還買了USD.JPY(買USD賣JPY)的交易者也可以通過交易EUR.JPY(賣EUR買JPY)來平倉頭寸。

注:

市場價值部分可展開/收起。交易者應點擊淨清算價值欄上方的符號確保顯示出綠色“減號”。如果是綠色“加號“,某些頭寸可能被隱藏。

 

交易者可以從市場價值部分發起平倉交易:右鍵點擊想要平倉的貨幣,選擇”平倉貨幣餘額“或”平倉所有非基礎貨幣餘額“。

 

 2. 外匯投資組合

賬戶窗口的外匯投資組合部分展示的是虛擬頭寸,以貨幣對的形式顯示頭寸信息,這與市場價值部分按貨幣顯示不同。這種特定的顯示形式是為了考慮機構外匯交易者的常用慣例,零售或非頻繁外匯交易者基本上可以無視該部分信息。外匯投資組合的頭寸數量並不反映所有外匯活動,但是,交易者可以對此部分顯示的頭寸數量和平均成本進行修改。這一無需執行交易便可隨意調整頭寸和平均成本信息的功能對於除交易非基礎貨幣產品外還參與其它貨幣交易的交易者可能會有幫助。其可讓交易者手動將自動貨幣轉換(交易非基礎貨幣產品時會自動發生)與單純的外匯交易活動分隔開來。 

外匯投資組合部分的外匯頭寸和盈虧信息均來自所有其它交易窗口顯示的信息。這在確定真實的實時頭寸信息時可能會造成一定困惑。為減少或消除此類困惑,交易者可以選擇以下操作:

 

a. 收起外匯投資組合部分

點擊外匯投資組合(FX Portfolio)文字左邊的箭頭可收起外匯投資組合部分。收起該部分後,虛擬頭寸信息便不再在各交易頁面顯示。(注:這並不會讓市場價值信息顯示出來,其只會阻止外匯投資組合信息顯示。)

 

 

b. 調整頭寸或平均價格

右鍵點擊賬戶窗口的外匯投資組合部分,交易者可以選擇調整頭寸或平均價格。交易者平倉掉所有非基礎貨幣頭寸並確定市場價值部分反映了被平倉的所有非基礎貨幣頭寸後,便可將頭寸和平均價格區域重置為0。此操作會重置外匯投資組合部分的頭寸數量,可讓交易者在交易界面看到更加準確的頭寸和盈虧信息。(注:這是手動操作,每次貨幣頭寸平倉後都需進行一次)。交易者應隨時對市場價值部分的頭寸信息進行確認,確保傳遞的定單達到開倉或平倉頭寸想要的結果)

 

我們鼓勵交易者在真實賬戶中開始交易前,先在模擬交易或演示賬戶中熟悉一下外匯交易。如關於以上信息仍有任何疑問,請聯繫IB。

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其它常見問題:

 

 

 

 

An Introduction to Forex (FX)

Overview: 

IB offers market venues and trading platforms which are directed towards both forex-centric traders as well as traders whose occasional forex activity originates from multi-currency stock and/or derivative transactions. The following article outlines the basics of forex order entry on the TWS platform and considerations relating to quoting conventions and position (post-trade) reporting.

Background: 

A forex (FX) trade involves a simultaneous purchase of one currency and the sale of another, the combination of which is commonly referred to as a cross pair.  In the examples below the EUR.USD cross pair will be considered whereby the the first currency in the pair (EUR) is known as the transaction currency that one wishes to buy or sell and the second currency (USD) the settlement currency.

 

Jump to a specific topic in this article;

 

Forex Price Quotes

A currency pair is the quotation of the relative value of a currency unit against the unit of another currency in the foreign exchange market. The currency that is used as reference is called quote currency, while the currency that is quoted in relation is called base currency. In TWS we offer one ticker symbol per each currency pair. You could use FXTrader to reverse the quoting. Traders buy or sell the base currency and sell or buy the quote currency. For ex. the EUR/USD currency pair’s ticker symbol is:

EUR.USD

where:

  • EUR is the base currency
  • USD is the quote currency

The price of the currency pair above represents how many units of USD (quote currency) are required to trade one unit of EUR (base currency). Said in other words, the price of 1 EUR quoted in USD.

A buy order on EUR.USD will buy EUR and sell an equivalent amount of USD, based on the trade price.

 

Creating a quote line

 
The steps for adding a currency quote line on the TWS are as follows:
1.  Enter the transaction currency (example: EUR) and press enter.
2.  Choose the product type forex  

3.  Select the settlement currency (example: USD) and choose the forex trading venue.

 

 

Notes:

The IDEALFX venue provides direct access to interbank forex quotes for orders that exceed the IDEALFX minimum quantity requirement (generally 25,000 USD). Orders directed to IDEALFX that do not meet the minimum size requirement will be automatically rerouted to a small order venue principally for forex conversions. Click HERE for information regarding IDEALFX minimum and maximum quantities. 

Currency dealers quote the FX pairs in a specific direction.  As a result, traders may have to adjust the currency symbol being entered in order to find the desired currency pair.  For example,  if the currency symbol CAD is used, traders will see that the settlement currency USD cannot be found in the contract selection window.  This is because this pair is quoted as USD.CAD and can only be accessed by entering the underlying symbol as USD and then choosing Forex.


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Creating an order

 

Depending on the headers that are shown, the currency pair will be displayed as follows;
The Contract and Description columns will display the pair in the format Transaction Currency.Settlement Currency (example: EUR.USD).  The Underlying column will display only the Transaction Currency.

Click HERE for information regarding how to change the shown column headers.


 

1.  To enter an order, left click on the bid (to sell) or the ask (to buy).

2.  Specify the quantity of the trading currency you wish to buy or sell. The quantity of the order is expressed in base currency, that is the first currency of the pair in TWS.

Interactive Brokers does not know the concept of contracts that represent a fixed amount of base currency in Foreign exchange, rather your trade size is the required amount in base currency.

For example, an order to buy 100,000 EUR.USD will serve to buy 100,000 EUR and sell the equivalent number of USD based on the displayed exchange rate.

3.  Specify the desired order type, exchange rate (price) and transmit the order.

Note:  Orders may be placed in terms of any whole currency unit and there are no minimum contract or lot sizes to consider aside from the market venue minimums as specified above.

Common Question: How is an order entered using the FX Trader?

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Pip Value

A pip is measure of change in a currency pair, which for most pairs represents the smallest change, although for others changes in fractional pips are allowed.

For ex. in EUR.USD 1 pip is 0.0001, while in USD.JPY 1 pip is 0.01.

To calculate 1 pip value in units of quote currency the following formula can be applied:

(notional amount) x (1 pip)

Examples:

  • Ticker symbol = EUR.USD
  • Amount = 100,000 EUR
  • 1 pip = 0.0001

1 pip value = 100’000 x 0.0001= 10 USD

  • Ticker symbol = USD.JPY
  • Amount = 100’000 USD
  • 1 pip = 0.01

1 pip value = 100’000 x (0.01)= JPY 1000

To calculate 1 pip value in units of base currency the following formula can be applied:

(notional amount) x (1 pip/exchange rate)

Examples:

  • Ticker symbol = EUR.USD
  • Amount = 100’000 EUR
  • 1 pip = 0.0001
  • Exchange rate = 1.3884

1 pip value = 100’000 x (0.0001/1.3884)= 7.20 EUR

  • Ticker symbol = USD.JPY
  • Amount = 100’000 USD
  • 1 pip = 0.01
  • Exchange rate = 101.63

1 pip value = 100’000 x (0.01/101.63)= 9.84 USD

 

Position (Post-Trade) Reporting

 

FX position information is an important aspect of trading with IB that should be understood prior to executing transactions in a live account.  IB's trading software reflects FX positions in two different places both of which can be seen in the account window.

 

1. Market Value

The Market Value section of the Account Window reflects currency positions in real time stated in terms of each individual currency (not as a currency pair). 

The Market Value section of the Account view is the only place that traders can see FX position information reflected in real time.  Traders holding multiple currency positions are not required to close them using the same pair used to open the position.  For example, a trader that bought EUR.USD (buying EUR and selling USD) and also bought USD.JPY (buying USD and selling JPY) may close the resulting position by trading EUR.JPY (selling EUR and buying JPY).

Notes:

The Market Value section is expandable/collapsible.  Traders should check the symbol that appears just above the Net Liquidation Value Column to ensure that a green minus sign is shown.  If there is a green plus symbol, some active positions may be concealed.

 

Traders can initiate closing transactions from the Market Value section by right clicking on the currency that they wish to close and choosing "close currency balance" or "close all non-base currency balances".

 

 2. FX Portfolio

 The FX Portfolio section of the account window provides an indication of Virtual Positions and displays position information in terms of currency pairs instead of individual currencies as the Market Value section does.  This particular display format is intended to accommodate a convention which is common to institutional forex traders and can generally be disregarded by the retail or occasional forex trader. FX Portfolio position quantities do not reflect all FX activity, however, traders have the ability to modify the position quantities and average costs that appear in this section.  The ability to manipulate position and average cost information without executing a transaction may be useful for traders involved in currency trading in addition to trading non-base currency products.  This will allow traders to manually segregate automated conversions (which occur automatically when trading non base currency products) from outright FX trading activity. 

 The FX portfolio section drives the FX position & profit and loss information displayed on all other trading windows.  This has a tendency to cause some confusion with respect to determining actual, real time position information.  In order to reduce or eliminate this confusion, traders may do one of the following;

 

a. Collapse the FX Portfolio section

By clicking the arrow to the left of the word FX Portfolio, traders can collapse the FX Portfolio section.  Collapsing this section will eliminate the Virtual Position information from being displayed on all of the trading pages. (Note: this will not cause the Market Value information to be displayed it will only prevent FX Portfolio information from being shown.)

 

 

b. Adjust Position or Average Price

By right clicking in the FX portfolio section of the account window, traders have the option to Adjust Position or Average Price.  Once traders have closed all non base currency positions and confirmed that the market value section reflects all non base currency positions as closed, traders can reset the Position and Average Price fields to 0.  This will reset the position quantity reflected in the FX portfolio section and should allow traders to see a more accurate position and profit and loss information on the trading screens. (Note: this is a manual process and would have to be done each time currency positions are closed out.  Traders should always confirm position information in the Market Value section to ensure that transmitted orders are achieving the desired result of opening or closing a position.

 

We encourage traders to become familiar with FX trading in a paper trade or DEMO account prior to executing transactions in their live account.  Please feel free to Contact IB for additional clarification on the above information.

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Other common questions:

 

 

 

 

How can I see details of orders that I've entered in the TWS?

Overview: 

Account holders are able to see the details of orders they've submitted in TWS through audit trails.

Background: 

In the TWS go to the Account menu and select Audit Trail beneath Information.  A small window will appear titled View Audit Trail.  Here you have the option of choosing Condensed or Expanded.  You can also select the day you wish to view.  This function will default to the current day.  You can try both Condensed and Expanded to decide which you prefer.  Clicking the OK button will take you to a screen where you can see details of orders that you've entered, for the day you select. 

My open order doesn't appear to be working, why not?

Overview: 

In the case of orders that have been placed, but do not appear to be acknowledged, you must contact IBKR via telephone immediately.  We will need to contact the exchange in these cases.  Communication through web tickets is not real time, and can not be used for issues of an urgent nature.  Requests for trade cancellations/fills must be made within the time limits set by the relevant exchange.  Many equity exchanges have a notification period of 30 minutes or less.  Derivative exchanges have notification periods as short as 5 minutes.  Requests for trade cancellations should be made by telephone or the Bust Request tool (no email or other non real-time method) to IBKR within 15 minutes of the erroneous transaction.  IBKR requires sufficient time to prepare the necessary information required by the exchanges and this time is included in the exchange-specified reporting period.  Requests for cancellation are always handled on a best-efforts basis and IBKR cannot guarantee the reporting time requirements.  In addition, exchanges have bust request fees that account holders must agree to before IBKR can proceed with the request.  The fees vary by exchange, and you will be informed of what that fee is for the exchange in question prior to the bust request filing.

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