V.16:11 (495-507): The British Pound, Cubed by Dennis Meyers, Ph.D.

Currency markets are popular with trend-followers because of the tendency for currency markets to follow long-term trends. Here's how to smooth out the trend and recognize the major turns.

The British pound (BP) is a major currency traded worldwide by corporations, institutions, banks, commodity funds and futures traders. The BP is traded 24 hours a day, and most of the world’s largest banks make a two-sided market in the British pound and its associated derivatives. Small traders, however, are constrained to trade the BP futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The BP futures are traded daily from 7:20 am to 2 pm on the CME and from 2:30 pm to 7:05 am Monday through Thursday, and then 5:30 pm Sundays to 7:05 am Mondays and holidays on the CME Globex system. While the CME BP futures trading volume is small when compared with total worldwide bank and institutional trading volume, arbitrage keeps the futures prices in line with the bigger markets.