Analysis of spreads in the dollar/euro and deutschemark/dollar foreign exchange markets

B-Tier
Journal: Economic Policy
Year: 2002
Volume: 17
Issue: 35
Pages: 535-552

Authors (4)

Charles Goodhart (not in RePEc) Ryan Love (not in RePEc) Richard Payne (not in RePEc) Dagfinn Rime (BI Handelshøyskolen)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Forex markets and the euroDollar spreads: mark versus euroWe compute bid-ask spreads for the dollar/euro exchange rate market and find them to be substantially larger than their deutschemark counterparts before introduction of the euro. We show that larger percentage spreads are not explained by volatility, trade intensity, and other standard explanatory variables in our data sets. But we also show that spreads have not increased in terms of the unit (‘pip’) used in exchange rate quotations to the fourth decimal point. Since the euro is worth about two marks, and was initially worth more than a dollar, this finding suggests that larger percentage spreads reflect the more pronounced ‘granularity’ of quoting conventions in euro-dollar rather than dollar-mark trading. We discuss whether mandating quotations to the fifth decimal point might be advisable, and conclude that such a policy might, but need not, increase the foreign exchange market's liquidity.– Charles Goodhart, Ryan Love, Richard Payne and Dagfinn Rime

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:ecpoli:v:17:y:2002:i:35:p:535-552.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-29