Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets, CFDs, OTC options or any of our other products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
An FX option (foreign exchange option or currency option) is a financial derivative that gives the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a currency pair at a set price (called the strike price) on a specified date (called the expiry date)*.
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Options contracts are similar to both futures and forward trading, although once these contracts have been put together, you are obligated to carry out their full duration. A call option gives you the right to buy, a put option gives you the right to sell.
FX options are, for the most part, fundamentally driven by the same factors that drive the underlying currency pairs, such as interest rates, inflation expectations, geopolitics and macroeconomic data such as unemployment, GDP, consumer and business confidence surveys.
There are two styles of options; European and American. The European-style option can only be exercised on the expiry date. The American-style option can be exercised at the strike price, any time before the expiry date.
FX option traders can use the 'Greeks' (Delta, Gamma, Theta, Rhio and Vega) to judge the risks and rewards of the options price, in the same way as you would equity options.
The risk for an option buyer is limited to the cost of buying the option, called the 'premium'. An option buyer has theoretically unlimited profit potential. Conversely, for an option seller the risk is potentially unlimited, but the profit is fixed at the premium received.
FX option contracts are typically traded through the over-the-counter (OTC) market so are fully customisable and can expire at any time. In the spot options market, when you buy a 'call', you also buy a 'put' simultaneously. For example, a trader might buy an option for the right to purchase one lot of EUR/USD at 1.00 (or parity) in three months. This is a 'EUR call/USD put'.
FX options are also available through regulated exchanges which are options on FX futures, in which case it is simply a call or a put. These offer a multitude of expirations and quoting options with standardised maturities. When traded on an exchange, FX options are typically available in ten currency pairs, all involving the US dollar, and are cash settled in dollars.
One of the most common reasons for using FX options is for short-term hedges of spot FX or foreign stock market positions. For example, if you were buying EUR/USD but you thought there might be a short-term decline in the price, you could also buy a euro put option to profit from the decline while maintaining your buy. You could also sell EUR/USD short at the same time as buying.
There are many bullish, bearish and even neutral strategies that can be implemented with options contracts. Spread strategies that are used in equity options can also be used with FX options, including vertical spreads, straddles, condors and butterflies.
An FX option can either be bought or sold. Options prices are derived from the base currency, which is the first currency in the currency pair (eg euros in EUR/USD). If you are bullish on the base currency then you should buy calls or sell puts, conversely if you are bearish you should buy puts or sell calls.
Explore the forex market through our award-winning Next Generation trading platform. We also offer trading on the internal MetaTrader 4 platform.
We don't currently offer forex options on our platform but we do offer forex forward contracts, which are a very similar type of derivative. Visit our currency forwards page to discover the various currency crosses that we offer.
What is options trading in the forex market?
A currency option or FX option gives the buyer an ‘option’ but not an obligation to buy or sell a foreign exchange currency at a certain exchange rate before or on a pre-determined date. A forex option is a derivative product that provides the feature of utilising leverage and dealing in currencies without having to purchase the tangible currency pair. Find out more about leveraged trading here.
How do forex options work?
There are two types of forex options available: call and put options. A call option gives you the right to buy a currency, while a put option gives you the right to sell a currency. Once you have placed a call or put option, you then have the options to buy or sell these currencies later. Options can be bought or sold until the expiration date, and are considered low risk as you can withdraw your options contract at any point. Discover the types of trading account on offer with CMC Markets.
What is the strike price in options?
The strike price is the price that the holder of an options contract can buy (call) or sell (put) the currency should they wish to exercise the option contract. With forex call and put options, the strike price is only valid until the expiration date. When determining the value of an option, the strike price is the single most important factor of an option’s value. Try out a spread betting demo account to practise your trading strategies.
* Please note that CMC Markets does not provide the ability to trade FX Options; this information is for educational purposes only.
Disclaimer: CMC Markets is an execution-only service provider. The material (whether or not it states any opinions) is for general information purposes only, and does not take into account your personal circumstances or objectives. Nothing in this material is (or should be considered to be) financial, investment or other advice on which reliance should be placed. No opinion given in the material constitutes a recommendation by CMC Markets or the author that any particular investment, security, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. The material has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research. Although we are not specifically prevented from dealing before providing this material, we do not seek to take advantage of the material prior to its dissemination.
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