Exchange-traded forex futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts. Forex futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, but only accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).
The ten most active traders account for almost 73% of trading volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe, (2/9/06 p. 20). These large international banks continually provide the market with both bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices. The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price at which a bank or market maker will sell ("ask", or "offer") and the price at which a market-maker will buy ("bid") from a wholesale customer. This spread is minimal for actively traded pairs of currencies, usually only 1-3 pips. For example, the bid/ask quote of EUR/USD might be 1.2200/1.2203. Minimum trading size for most deals is usually $1,000,000.
These spreads might not apply to retail customers at banks, which will routinely mark up the difference to say 1.2100 / 1.2300 for transfers, or say 1.2000 / 1.2400 for banknotes or travelers' cheques. Spot prices at market makers vary, but on EUR/USD are usually no more than 5 pips wide (i.e. 0.0005). Competition has greatly increased with pip spreads shrinking on the majors to as little as 1 to 1.5 pips.上週美元避險需求縮減，非美貨幣反彈，亞洲貨幣連袂走揚；新台幣兌美元匯率也因外資匯入而升值，週五新台幣匯率收29.462元，一週升值0.99%。根據彭博資訊（bloomberg）台北時間3月4日下午4時左右的國際匯價，亞洲10國貨幣中，除日圓貶值外，其餘貨幣均升值。
菲律賓披索上週升1.17%，報43.271披索兌1美元；另外，韓國工業生產增速，帶動韓元週線升值1.06%，報1114.60韓元兌1美元。
新台幣兌美元匯率上週也因台股上漲及外資匯入力道強，一週升0.99%，報29.462新台幣兌1美元；馬來西亞幣上週升0.75%，報3.0295馬幣兌1美元；印度盧比上週升0.72%，報45盧比兌1美元。
印尼盾上週持續升值，週升0.58%，報8787印尼盾兌1美元；泰銖上週升0.46%，報30.49泰銖兌1美元；新加坡幣上週升0.42%，報1.2673新加坡幣兌1美元；人民幣升0.14%，報6.5670人民幣兌1美元。
不過，日圓上週因避險需求轉弱，週線貶值0.92%，報82.44日圓兌1美元。
今年以來，亞洲貨幣兌美元匯率升貶互見，日圓今年以來貶1.60%、泰銖貶1.41%、印度盧比貶0.66%。
另外，新台幣今年以來升幅3.08%居冠、印尼盾升2.38%、新加坡幣升1.27%、菲律賓披索升1.22%、馬來西亞幣升1.12%、韓元升1.02%、人民幣升0.61%。
