Currency board the Deutsche Mark from 1992 to 1999 when it switched to fixing to the Euro at par. The peg to the Euro was upheld until January 2011 with Estonia's adoption of the Euro. This policy is seen as a mainstay of that country's subsequent economic success (see Economy of Estonia for a detailed description of the Estonian currency board). Argentina abandoned its currency board in January 2002 after a severe recession. To some, this emphasised the fact that currency boards are not irrevocable, and hence may be abandoned in the face of speculation by foreign exchange traders. However, Argentina's system
Currency pair = Cable = GBP/USD. The currency pairs that do not involve USD are called "cross currency pairs", such as GBP/JPY. Pairs that involve the euro are often called "euro crosses", such as EUR/GBP. Currencies are traded in fixed contract sizes, specifically called lot sizes, or multiples thereof. The standard lot size is 100,000 units. Many retail trading firms also offer 10,000-unit (mini lot) trading accounts and a few even 1,000-unit (micro lot). The officially quoted rate is a spot price. In a trading market however, currencies are offered for sale at an offering price (the "ask price"), and traders looking