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Dec 20 - 06:55 AM

USD/JPY - COMMENT-A Cheap FX Option To Suit Current USD/JPY Situation

By Richard Pace  —  Dec 20 - 05:20 AM

USD/JPY gains were bolstered by this week's hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve and dovish Bank of Japan policy announcements, before Friday's Japanese verbal intervention spurred setback.
However, USD/JPY looks set to continue its rise, albeit at a more cautious pace, which might suit a lower cost option designed for such a scenario.

JPY put/USD calls give holders the right to buy USD/JPY at a pre-set level (strike) and time (maturity) and only risk an up-front premium.
If USD/JPY spot is above the strike at maturity, the holder can execute the option and bank the difference between the strike and current spot rate (minus the premium).

However, if the extent of USD/JPY gains is expected to be limited, so is the profit potential.
Therefore the JPY put/USD call option buyer might consider selling a higher strike to help offset the initial cost, although the profit potential is then limited to the difference between the 2 strikes (minus the premium).

To benefit from a much bigger premium discount to the regular vanilla JPY put/USD call option, the holder might consider adding a knock-out trigger above their perceived USD/JPY target.
For example, with USD/JPY spot at 156.75, a 1-month expiry 157.00 strike JPY put USD call costs 150 JPY pips and therefore has a break-even of 158.50.
Profit is unlimited above this level.
But adding a 160.00 knock-out trigger reduces the initial premium to just 8 JPY pips - a break-even of 157.08, although the option is dead if 160.00 trades before expiry.

Longer dated maturities and/or placing triggers closer to the strikes can further reduce premiums and vice versa.

For more click on FXBUZ

Source:
London Stock Exchange Group | Thomson Reuters

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