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The biggest foreign exchange markets are in Tokyo, London and New York and they are networked with each other using modern technology creating a seamless interface that transacts currency prices and deals almost instantaneously across the world. The institutional framework that drives the forex markets is perhaps the key to the market itself and comprises the following:

By transacting with different clients in exchange conversions, commercial banks accumulate a great chunk of forex market needs and are often shared with other banks in interbank dealings. These banks (Union Bank of Switzerland, Swiss Bank Corporation, Deutesche Bank, and Citibank) with daily volume of transactions in billions of dollars greatly influence forex markets. Central Banks as for example the US Federal Reserve influence forex markets by regulating the investment climate and making market interventions and so on.

Exchange rate is a market-determined phenomenon. In other words, the exchange rate depends on supply and demand conditions in the market for any particular currency. A currency exchange rate is derived from the ‘spot transactions’ (means foreign exchange trades that are initiated and settled within two business days with the respective exchange) of authorized dealers with the public.

This exchange rate that is reported in the price tickers that you see on your trading screen reflect the cumulative transactions undertaken by the major market makers (namely the institutions) with large value transactions reflecting more on the currency prices than a small value transaction. That’s probably one of the reasons why currency prices keep changing on your screen reflecting the rate at which the major market maker’s i.e. the institutions trade.