ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Foreign exchange spot

Foreign exchange spot refers to the process of buying or selling currency at the current market price.

Imagine you have some toys (USD) and your friend has some candies (EUR). Your friend wants to buy a toy from you and you agree to sell it to them. Now, you both need to decide how many candies it's worth. That's exactly what happens when foreign exchange takes place.

In real life, people trade currencies to buy products, invest in stocks or even go on vacation in another country. The exchange rate is the price of one country's currency compared to another country's currency.

For example, let's say you want to exchange 1 USD for 0.85 EUR. That means 1 USD is worth 0.85 EUR. The exchange rate keeps changing throughout the day based on various factors like economic conditions, political events, or global trade.

So, when you exchange currencies, you get the spot price, which is the current market price. It's called 'spot' because the transaction is settled immediately, and the delivery of the currencies happens within two business days.

In summary, foreign exchange spot is buying or selling currencies at the current market price, just like exchanging your toys for your friend's candies, but with money instead.