What Is Liquidity？

Liquidity is one of the core factors driving economic development. A piece of clothing is definitely easier to cash than a set of real estate. Economic development occurs in various transactions. Liquidity is not only an important part of traditional markets, but also indispensable for any trading market. Liquidity mainly refers to the ease with which an asset can be sold at a reasonable price. There are three main types of liquidity defined in the market: asset liquidity, market liquidity, and accounting liquidity.

Why Is It Important？

Liquidity is exceptionally important for various trading market. Markets with insufficient liquidity can easily face situations where trading cannot be conducted. How can we understand the importance of liquidity？ We can explore it from the following five perspectives:

Market Stability: Trading volume and liquidity complement each other. Good liquidity can bring high trading volume, and high trading volume can, in turn, bring good liquidity. If a market does not have good liquidity, it is prone to severe fluctuations when encountering black swan events. Additionally, markets lacking liquidity are more easily manipulated by holders of large assets, causing losses to the broader investor base. The well-known American investor George Soros once made a significant profit by shorting the Thai baht. The baht market is a forex market with relatively low liquidity, making it susceptible to manipulation by large asset holders.

Fair Pricing: In a highly liquid market, the number of buyers and sellers is balanced, and trading activity is high. Due to sufficient competition between buyers and sellers, each party hopes to trade at the optimal price. When other competitors participate in price competition, sufficient liquidity is brought about, making the market more stable. Therefore, good liquidity provides fair prices for everyone.

Faster Transaction Speed: High liquidity means a large number of buyers and sellers, enabling us to participate in market transactions more quickly, with minimal delay and lower slippage, thus offering a better trading experience for investors. Investors experience lower slippage and faster execution when trading large-cap stocks and major forex currency pairs.

Price Stability: In a high liquid market, prices tend to be more stable because the large number of buyers and sellers means that large trades have a smaller impact on asset prices. This stability helps traders and investors avoid significant losses due to price fluctuations. Stocks with large market capitalizations tend to have less price volatility compared to those with smaller market capitalizations. Similarly, the Euro exchange rate is generally more stable than the Thai baht exchange rate.

Reliable Market: High liquidity generally makes it easier for investors to identify trends. Stable prices can provide a lot of useful information, which investors can use flexibly with various strategies, without worrying about the lack of counterparties. For example, many forex traders choose the EUR/USD currency pair when testing new trading strategies. This is because the EUR/USD pair is one of the most liquid currency pairs in the forex market.

Different Markets Have Different Liquidity

Which Markets Are More Liquid？

If you want to minimize the risks associated with liquidity, you should choose high-liquidity forex and stock markets during your trades. In the forex market, you should opt for major currency pairs, such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY. These major currency pairs have strong liquidity during any trading session and have narrow price spreads. If you are trading stocks, you should choose stocks with a market capitalization of over 10 billion USD. Such stocks have excellent liquidity and attract many investors. For example, Microsoft and NVIDIA stocks attract many institutional investors due to their excellent liquidity, which facilitates the ease of capital inflows and outflows for these institutions. In addition, you can also choose some crude oil and gold for investment. Gold is a globally recognized safe haven asset and value storage tool. Investing in gold can fight inflation, so gold has high liquidity in any country.

Which Markets Are Less Liquid？

Some markets have higher liquidity risks. In the forex market, non-major currency pairs, such as the Thai Baht and Mexican Peso, typically have lower liquidity. These currencies are less globally accepted and have lower trading demand, resulting in poor liquidity.In stock trading, if you are dealing with small-cap stocks, you need to be aware of liquidity risks. Small-cap stocks have higher price volatility, and market news can quickly change their prices, so investors need to manage risks carefully. Additionally, real estate has extremely poor liquidity due to the long transaction cycle and high transaction costs involved in buying and selling properties.

How to Measure Market liquidity？

High market liquidity can bring a lot of positive feedback, and good liquidity can bring a better experience to investors. So how do we identify the level of market liquidity？

Spread: Forex trading, like other trading markets, involves brokers providing different bid and ask prices. A smaller spread indicates better market depth, allowing investors to trade at more favorable prices.

Price Volatility: Price volatility is an indicator of market stability. Poor market liquidity results in higher volatility, while good liquidity leads to more stable prices.

Trading Volume: Trading volume usually refers to the quantity of buy and sell transactions. Markets with good liquidity typically have higher trading volumes. Investors often use trading volume to assess the liquidity of a trading instrument.

Market Depth: Market depth usually refers to the number of open buy and sell orders at different price levels. The more orders there are in the order book, the better the market depth and the higher the liquidity.

Conclusion

In summary, liquidity refers to how easily an asset can be converted into cash without negatively affecting its price. When investing in financial markets, liquidity is an important factor to consider. A thriving market will certainly have high liquidity, which ensures that frequent trading positions have minimal impact on prices. By understanding market liquidity, investors can better seize opportunities and more effectively manage risks.

FAQ

What is Liquidity Premium？

Liquidity premium refers to the time and cost required to convert an investment asset into cash. An asset that can be converted into cash at a price close to the market price within a short period is considered to have high liquidity.

Who are the Forex Liquidity Providers？

Central banks and commercial banks are the most important forex liquidity providers. Financial institutions also enhance market liquidity by providing forex trading for themselves and their clients. Additionally, large individual investors contribute to forex market liquidity.

What are the factors that affect foreign exchange liquidity？

Several factors influence forex market liquidity. For instance, the time of day affects liquidity, with the highest liquidity occurring during the overlap of London and New York trading sessions. News events can also impact forex liquidity. Market trading volume affects liquidity as well, with major currency pairs having better liquidity due to larger trading volumes.