The following page deals with how an actual
trading conversation is dealt with over the
phone.
- Trader x contacts the ACM dealing desk
to ask for a two-way quote for a particular
currency, he must specify the size of the
transaction. "I would like a dollar
Swiss quote for 1 dollar please" or
"I would like a quote for 1 million
dollars against Swiss franc".
- If the ACM dealer knows that trader x
is a frequent dealer then he will most likely
respond, "87-90" if not he would
quote the whole figure "1.5587-90".
That's because it is generally assumed that
the "big figure" (that is, 1.55) is known.
- Trader x has a short time to decide whether
he wants to buy, sell or ask for a requote.
Bear in mind that in a fast-moving market,
unless he responds promptly, in a matter
of seconds, the dealer cannot be held to
the quote he has given. If the price changes
the dealer will say "off" or "change"
which means that the price quoted beforehand
is no longer available. After the dealer
says "off" he will immediately
quote a new set of bid and ask prices. Let's
assume that trader x was indecisive and
consequently the dealer "offed"
the price quoting a new one straight after.
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