Forex Terms "A"

Account
A record of transactions of goods and services owed to one person by another.

Agent
An intermediary or person hired to carry out transactions on behalf of another person.

Aggregate Demand
Total demand in an economy, consisting of government spending, private/consumer and business investment.

All or None
Refers to requests for a broker to fill an order completely at a predetermined price or not at all. Refers to both buy and sell orders.

American Option
An option that can be exercised anytime during its life. The majority of exchange-traded options are American.

Anonymous Trading
Visible bids and offers on the market without the identity of the bidder and seller being revealed. Anonymous trades allow the high profile investors to execute transactions without the scrutiny and speculation of the market.

Appreciation
An increase in the value of a currency in response to market demand.

Arbitrage
When a price differential arises, creating an opportunity to profit through buying and selling. Arbitrage is a "riskless" opportunity to profit, as there is no uncertainty involved. In regards to the foreign exchange market, arbitrage arises when a profit can be made through differentials in exchange rates. Arbitrage opportunities in the foreign exchange market are rare.

Asian Option
An option whose payoff depends on the average price of the underlying asset over a certain period of time. These types of option contracts are attractive because they tend to cost less than regular American options

Ask Rate
The lowest price that shares will be offered for sale, such as the bid/ask spread in the foreign exchange market.

Ask Size
The number of shares a seller is willing to sell at his/her ask rate.

Asset Allocation
The diversification of one's assets into different sectors, such as real estate, stocks, bonds, and forex, to optimize growth potential and minimize risk.

Asset Swap
An interest rate swap used to alter the cash flow characteristics of an institution's assets in order to provide a better match with its liabilities.

Attorney in Fact
A person given the right or authority to act on behalf of another to carryout business transactions and implement documents.

Authorized Dealer
A financial institution or bank authorized to deal in foreign exchange.

Automatic Exercise
A procedure implemented to protect an option holder where the Option Clearing Corporation will automatically exercise an "in the money" option for the holder.

Away From the Market
When the bid on an order is lower (or the ask price is higher) than the current market price for the security.