The Psychology of the Foreign Exchange Market

In an understandable and engaging analysis of his research with many of the world’s leading market participants, Thomas Oberlechner draws on the first-hand expertise of the professionals whose decisions shape the market. Expanding the field of behavioral finance, The Psychology of the Foreign Exchange Market incorporates new insights from a variety of psychological perspectives – ranging from social market dynamics; the role of affects and intuition in trading decisions; cognitive biases of traders; psychological risk-taking phenomena; subjective attitudes in market expectations; the interdependent relationship between trading institutions and the financial news media; the dynamics of market rumors, and personality characteristics of successful traders; to the role of metaphors in the decisions of participants and the nature of the market.

“Economists propose elegant theories and sophisticated models to explain exchange rates, but to no avail. Traders, however, enjoy uncommon success in these markets. The difference is psychology. Economists deny it. Traders exploit it. And Thomas Oberlechner explains it – very skilfully. Whether you want to be a better economist or a better trader, read this outstanding book!”
—Mark Kritzman, Windham Capital Management Boston, LLC

“Finally, a book that helps us to understand the dynamics of the largest market in the world. As petrodollars and financial trade foreign exchange transactions gave way to pure trading for profit and speculation, it was often difficult to ascertain the dynamics of trading. Thomas Oberlechner has provided an excellent understanding in this book.”
—Marshall N. Carter, Chairman/CEO (retired), State Street Bank and Trust Co., Boston

“Financial markets, with their interaction of economic and psychological mechanisms, increasingly attract researchers’ and practitioners’ interests. Thomas Oberlechner brilliantly examines financial markets by taking a psychological perspective. This splendid book impresses by its detailed research and provides a thorough understanding of the complex yet attractive mechanisms of financial markets.”
—Professor Erich Kirchler, Institute for Psychology, University of Vienna

“Thomas Oberlechner has pulled together an astonishing array of first-rate research on how financial markets are shaped and shifted through all-too-human interaction and decision. Moreover, he has contributed a good deal of highly original research into the workings of the foreign exchange market and on the people who build and sustain this market. The Psychology of the Foreign Exchange Market summarizes in a most readable way what we know about the people – traders, analysts and journalists – who make markets and whose everyday decision making has, to say the least, far ranging social consequences. A ‘must read’ for anyone who wonders about the seemingly unfathomable mysteries of exchange rates and the making of markets.”
—John Van Maanen, Erwin Schell Professor of Organization Studies, MIT