When to Exercise versus Walk Away
When the relationship between the exercise price and
spot price is favourable to tbe holder-in reverse position for
puts than for calls-the FX option is said to be „in the money"
because the holder would exercise the FX option and have a
realized gain.On the ither hand, when the relationship
between the exercise price and the spot price is unfavorable
to the holder, the FX option is said to be „out ofthe money",
in which case the holder would not exercise the option.When
the exercise price and the spot price are the same , the FX
option is said to be „at the money".These situation are shown
in Illustration 14-2.
The exercise price need not be the same as the spot price
at the inception ofthe option period.During the option period,
the holder can sell the FX option in the open market at its
market value, suggesting that the FX option should always be
valued at its market value.
If at the inception of the FX option, the option is either
out of the money (the spot price being either below the
exercise price for a call option or above the exercise price for
a put option) or at the money (the spot price equaling the
exercise price), the entire premium is called the time value
The time value is analogous to a prepaid insurance premium
that could be amortized to income over the life of the option
period using a systematic and rational method (such as
straight-line). The time value of an option is a function of (1)
the length of the option period (which increases as the
duration becomes longer). (2) the interest rate opportunity,
and (3) the volatility of the underlying item. The determination of the time value is beyond the scope of this
text.