The major dealing centres at the time of writing are: London , with about 30%
of the market, New York , with 20%, Tokyo , with 12%, Zurich , Frankfurt, Hong
Kong and Singapore , with about 7% each, followed by Paris and Sydney with 3%
each. Because of the fact that these centres are all over the world, foreign
exchange traders can execute transactions 24 hours a day. The market only closes
on the weekends.
THE MAIN 'PLAYERS' IN THE FOREX MARKET
The five broad categories of participants are: consumers, businesses,
investors, speculators, commercial banks, investment banks and central banks.
Consumers, including visitors of countries, tourists and immigrants, do need
to exchange currencies when they travel so that they can buy local goods and
services. These participants do not have the power to set prices. They just buy
and sell according to the prevailing exchange rate. They make up a significant
proportion of the volume being traded in the market.
