Trading USD/JPY Options

Where to start

Options on this currency exposure can be arranged through participating OTC providers or accessed through an eligible futures-options broker where the exchange lists the product. A spot FX or CFD account alone does not establish access to vanilla options.

Match the currency quotation

The examples quote USD per JPY. A higher number means JPY is stronger against USD. The familiar USD/JPY spot quotation is the inverse. A call on JPY therefore benefits from USD/JPY falling; a call explicitly on USD/JPY buys USD and has the opposite direction. Do not apply the example strike to the USD/JPY chart without inverting the quotation.

CME futures quotation conventions can differ from the commonly displayed spot pair. Identify the currency being bought or sold before transferring a trading view into a call or put.

Read the contract terms

Record the notional, strike quotation, premium currency, expiry time and settlement method. OTC amounts may be negotiated; exchange products have specified sizes and underlying months. An option expiry and a futures delivery date are separate.

Use the provider’s current product specification and an executable option chain. Public charts do not establish the available bid, ask or ability to trade a particular expiry.

Funding and exercise

Check whether exercise exchanges currencies, creates futures or leads to a financial payment. Full delivery amounts can be much larger than the premium. Confirm the broker’s cutoff and closeout policy before the deadline.

Before expiry, selling the option to close may preserve time value that exercise gives up, provided a market is available. Counterparty terms and liquidity also matter.

Product resources

CME FX product directory lists exchange products. For an OTC contract, obtain the provider’s written confirmation and settlement terms.

Start with the payoff

Japanese Yen Options (USD/JPY) — Review the calls and puts before choosing a contract.