
194 INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
higher (lower) than the foreign interest rate, the forward points will be added (subtracted) to
the spot rate to arrive at the implied outright forward.
Basis Thespotrateandtheforwardrateconvergeuponmaturityofaforwardcontract;
otherwise, there will be arbitrage opportunities. But before maturity, they may differ, and
the difference is known as the basis. Thus, the basis is expressed as:
s
T,
where
S
t
= Spot rate of a currency at time t
T = Maturity period of a forward contract
F
t
= Forward rate of a contract initiated at time t
The basis may be positive or negative, depending on the ...