solution

Apex Corporation must pay its Japanese supplier ¥125 million in three months. It is thinking of buying 20 yen call options (contract size is ¥6.25 million) at a strike price of $0.00800 in order to protect against the risk of a rising yen. The premium is 0.015 cents per yen. Alternatively, Apex could buy 10 three-month yen futures contracts (contract size is ¥12.5 million) at a price of $0.007940/¥. The current spot rate is ¥1 = $0.007823. Apex’s treasurer believes that the most likely value for the yen in 90 days is $0.007900, but the yen could go as high as $0.008400 or as low as $0.007500.

a. Diagram Apex’s gains and losses on the call option position and the futures position within its range of expected prices (see Figure 7.1). Ignore transaction costs and margins.

b. Calculate what Apex would gain or lose on the option and futures positions if the yen settled at its most likely value.

c. What is Apex’s break-even future spot price on the option contract? On the futures contract?

d. Calculate and diagram the corresponding profit and loss and break-even positions on the futures and options contracts for the sellers of these contracts.