Today’s spot CAD bid exchange rate is EUR:CAD 1.425 and the ask exchange rate is EUR:CAD 1.435. The percent spread is closest to:
A)
0.697%.
B)
0.702%.
C)
0.489%.
The percentage spread is the same irrespective of how the quote is made. The percentage spread is calculated as: (1.435 − 1.425) / 1.435 × 100 = 0.697%
Assume that the EUR:USD six-month forward exchange rate is quoted at 1.2102 − 1.2112. What is the bid-ask spread as a percentage of the ask price based on a direct quote for euros?
A)
0.0858%.
B)
0.0847%.
C)
0.0816%.
Our quote is in terms of the number of dollars per euro, and a direct quote for euros is the number of euros per dollar. So, we must invert the rates given to get USD:EUR = 0.8256 − 0.8263. The spread is the difference between the bid and the ask or 0.8263 − 0.8256 = 0.0007. The spread as a percent of the ask price is (0.0007 / 0.8263) or 0.0847%. Rounding is per market convention
Which of the following will cause a currency's bid-ask spread to widen? The:
A)
government has recently become more stable.
B)
bid-ask spread is for a small transaction rather than a large one.
C)
bid-ask spread is a spot quote rather than a forward quote.
The bid is the price at which the bank will buy foreign currency, and the ask is the price at which the bank will sell foreign currency. The more actively a currency is traded, the narrower the spread. Forward spreads are wider than spot spreads. The smaller the transaction size, the wider the spread. The greater the exchange-rate volatility, the greater the bid-ask spread.