Currency markets

Main article: Foreign exchange market

Seemingly, the most obvious buyers and sellers of foreign exchange are importers/exporters. While this may have been true in the distant past, whereby importers/exporters created the initial demand for currency markets, importers and exporters now represent only 1/32 of foreign exchange dealing, according to BIS.[1]

The picture of foreign currency transactions today shows:

* Banks and Institutions
* Speculators
* Government spending (for example, military bases abroad)
* Importers/Exporters
* Tourists