The first time I felt the experience of going at fast speed in the highway ( the market ) was when I was working at the bank. I was an executive manager and the customers were mainly exporters and sometimes importers. Exporters are supposed to sell their production usually in US currency and Importers are assumed to purchase their supplies in US currency. It is the most frequent situation and it was exactly what I had to face.
When you are trading currencies you are in the highway at fast speed, you have to quote all day the exchange rate for your better clients and still make every business a profitable one. Outside the US, Exporters are Supplying US currency to the local market ( they need local currency to pay their expenses) and Importers are Demanding US currency to pay their external supliers.
Early in the morning after reviewing the unpayable checks you begin the day with people asking you for exchange rates and you have to quote with the trade room the best exchange rates for your clients even they are importers or Exporters ( you are giving a service ) and of course caring for the profitability of the operations.
If you are dealing with an exporter they want the highest exchange rate you can get at the market but this will depend on who is this particular day quoting and trading at the trade room.
In the local market the mainly exporters are companies in mining so they liquidate US currency to convert it in local currency, when great exporters companies enter into the market selling dollars you are in problems the Law of Demand and Supply operates and due to the large supply of US currency, this means the US exchange rate will be priced probably at lower levels than previous days.
Your customer is in problems he wants the best conditions for his exchange rate and you can´t get a better rate than the previous day. But still remains the possibility of greater importers entering in the market and increasing the Demand and you could get a better exchange rate, so you are hopeless and still keep your-self quoting with the trading room. Sometimes in the middle of the day the exporters take deffensive positions and wait for a better moment, in this moment you have the pulse of the market at your fingers and you feel you are in the highway at top fast speed.
You keep your hands on both phones quoting exchange rates and probably quoting a special interest rate with the trade room. At this moment you are working not at your office rather you are part of the team, you are inside the trade room and doing your best for your customers and your company.
I think this experience to feel the market in your hands and living every second to understand what goes on during the day to get better quotes and transactions is the best lesson about how a market works. It is so simple when the demand increase (ceteris paribus), the price of the US currency will be higher and if the supply increase (ceteris paribus) the price of the US currency will decrease too. So simple like that , The law of Supply and Demand in motion. Enjoy it !Again, now you are driving at top speed in the Highway :... The market.
