G7 - The seven leading industrial countries, being US , Germany, Japan, France, UK, Canada, Italy.

G10 - G7 plus Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden, a group associated with IMF discussions. Switzerland is sometimes peripherally involved.

Globex : An after hours electronic futures and options trading platform developed by Reuters.
Gross National Product : GDP plus production and income from nationals abroad.
Hedge Fund : A private fund which usually solicits investments from wealthy individuals. It is unregulated as it's assumed that the investors are knowledgeable and realize the speculative nature of the fund. It usually invests in high risk, short term instruments in order to achieve above-average returns.

Gap - A mismatch between maturities and cash flows in a bank or individual dealers position book. Gap exposure is effectively interest rate exposure.

Going long - The purchase of a stock, commodity, or currency for investment or speculation.

Going short - The selling of a currency or instrument not owned by the seller.

Gold Standard - The original system for supporting the value of currency issued. The was that where the price of gold is fixed against the currency it means that the increased supply of gold does not lower the price of gold but causes prices to increase.

Good until canceled - An instruction to a broker that unlike normal practice the order does not expire at the end of the trading day, although normally terminates at the end of the trading month.

Grid - Fixed margin within which exchange rates are allowed to fluctuate.

Gross Domestic Product - Total value of a country's output, income or expenditure produced within the country's physical borders.

Gross National Product - Gross domestic product plus " factor income from abroad" - income earned from investment or work abroad.

- H -

Hard currency - Any one of the major world currencies that is well traded and easily converted into other currencies.

Head and Shoulders - A pattern in price trends which chartist consider indicates a price trend reversal. The price has risen for some time, at the peak of the left shoulder, profit taking has caused the price to drop or level. The price then rises steeply again to the head before more profit taking causes the the price to drop to around the same level as the shoulder. A further modest rise or level will indicate a that a further major fall is imminent. The breach of the neckline is the indication to sell.

Hedge : A term used to describe reducing risk associated with adverse market movements by using two counterbalancing investments, thereby minimizing any losses caused by price fluctuations. For example, if you sell a house in Holland to relocate to the UK (your new base currency), you are in a long Euro (EUR) position and short Pounds Sterling (GBP). To offset this position you would need to sell the equal amount of EUR to make up for the short GBP position.
Holder : Buyer and subsequently owner of a currency pair.

Hedged position - One open buy position and one open sell position in the same currency.

Hit the bid - Acceptance of purchasing at the offer or selling at the bid.

- I -

IMF - International Monetary Fund, established in 1946 to provide international liquidity on a short and medium term and encourage liberalization of exchange rates. The IMF supports countries with balance of payments problems with the provision of loans.

IMM - International Monetary Market part of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange that lists a number of currency and financial futures Implied volatility A measurement of the market's expected price range of the underlying currency futures based on the traded option premiums.

Implied Rates - The interest rate determined by calculating the difference between spot and forward rates.

Indicative quote - A market-maker's price which is not firm.

Inflation - Continued rise in the general price level in conjunction with a related drop in purchasing power. Sometimes referred to as an excessive movement in such price levels.

Initial margin - The margin required by a Foreign Exchange firm to initiate the buying or selling of a determined amount of currency.

Inter-bank rates - The bid and offer rates at which international banks place deposits with each other. The basis of the Interbank market.

Interest Arbitrage - Switching into another currency by buying spot and selling forward, and investing proceeds in order to obtain a higher interest yield. Interest arbitrage can be inward, i.e. from foreign currency into the local one or outward, i.e. from the local currency to the foreign one. Sometimes better results can be obtained by not selling the forward interest amount. In that case some treat it as no longer being a complete arbitrage, as if the exchange rate moved against the arbitrageur, the profit on the transaction may create a loss.

Interest parity - One currency is in interest parity with another when the difference in the interest rates is equalized by the forward exchange margins. For instance, if the operative interest rate in Japan is 3% and in the UK 6%, a forward premium of 3% for the Japanese Yen against sterling would bring about interest parity.

Interest rate Swaps - An agreement to swap interest rate exposures from floating to fixed or vice versa. There is no swap of the principal. It is the interest cash flows be they payments or receipts that are exchanged.

Internationalization - Referring to a currency that is widely used to denominate trade and credit transactions by non residents of the country of issue. US dollar and Swiss Franc are examples.

Intervention - Action by a central bank to effect the value of its currency by entering the market. Concerted intervention refers to action by a number of central banks to control exchange rates.

"The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Index
measures the activity level of purchasing managers in the
Manufacturing sector, with a reading above 50 indicating expansion.
A rising trend has a positive effect on the nation's currency. To
produce the index, purchasing managers are surveyed on a number of
subjects including employment, production, new orders, supplier
deliveries, and inventories. Traders watch these surveys closely
because purchasing managers, by virtue of their jobs, have early
access to data about their company's performance, which can be a
leading indicator of overall economic performance."