The International Securities Exchange (ISE) today announced that dual currency conventions are now available for four currency pairs in its portfolio of ISE FX Options. The "in US$" currency convention, typically used in the FX spot market, is now available alongside ISE's USD-based currency convention for options on the Australian dollar, British pound, Euro and New Zealand dollar. The ISE Spot EURUSD (Symbol: EUU), ISE Spot GBPUSD (Symbol: GBP), ISE Spot AUDUSD (Symbol: AUM) and ISE Spot NZDUSD (Symbol: NDO) began trading on September 14, 2009. Timber Hill is serving as the Primary Market Maker for these new products.
"We are excited to expand our ISE FX Options product suite with the introduction of dual currency conventions," said Kris Monaco, ISE's Director of New Product Development. "Our new FX Options products will appeal to a broad range of FX market participants because it aligns them more closely with the needs of the OTC institutional market while also providing additional choice and flexibility for individual investors to hedge their currency exposure risk."
ISE currently lists FX options on nine currency pairs. The USD-based, or "per US$," currency convention is available for all nine pairs and allows investors to express their views on the strength or weakness of the U.S. dollar relative to global currencies while adopting the trading strategies they currently use for equity and index options. The "in US$" currency convention, which is the inverse of the USD-based convention, is the traditional convention used in the FX spot market.
As exchange-listed securities, ISE FX Options can be easily accessed through most major brokerage accounts that are approved for trading equity and index options. These products are cash-settled and have European style exercise. For more information, please visit www.ise.com/fx.
Overview of ISE FX Options Products Currency "per US$" (USD-based)
convention Symbol "in US$"
convention Symbol Australian dollar USD/AUD AUX AUD/USD AUM British pound USD/GBP BPX GBP/USD GBP Canadian dollar USD/CAD CDD Euro USD/EUR EUI EUR/USD EUU Japanese yen USD/JPY YUK Mexican peso USD/MXN PZO New Zealand dollar USD/NZD NZD NZD/USD NDO Swedish krona USD/SEK SKA Swiss franc USD/CHF SFC