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INTERNATIONAL FINANCE

FACTORS AFFECTING FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES

INTRODUCTION

Foreign exchange, or Forex, is the conversion of one country's currency into that of another. In a free economy, a country's currency is valued according to factors of supply and demand. In other words, a currency's value can be pegged to another country's currency, such as the U.S. dollar, or even to a basket of currencies. A country's currency value also may be fixed by the country's government. However, most countries float their currencies freely against those of other countries, which keep them in constant fluctuation. The value of any particular currency is determined by market forces based on trade, investment, tourism, and geo-political risk. Every time a tourist visits a country, for example, he or she must pay for goods and services using the currency of the host country. Therefore, a tourist must exchange the currency of his or her home country for the local currency. Currency exchange of this kind is one of the demand factors for a particular currency. Another important factor of demand occurs when a foreign company seeks to do business with a company in a specific country. Usually, the foreign company will have to pay the local company in their local currency. At other times, it may be desirable for an investor from one country to invest in another, and that investment would have to be made in the local currency as well. All of these requirements produce a need for foreign exchange and are the reasons why foreign exchange markets are so large. Foreign exchange is handled globally between banks and all transactions fall under the auspice of the Bank of International Settlements.

FACTORS AFFECTING FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATE


All forex trading involves the exchange of one currency with another. At any one time, the actual exchange rate is determined by the supply and demand of the corresponding currencies. Keep in mind that the demand of a certain currency is directly linked to the supply of another. Likewise, when you supply a certain currency, it would mean that you have the demand for another currency. The following factors affect the supply and demand of currencies and would therefore influence their exchange rates.

1. Monetary Policy When a central bank believes that intervention in the forex market is effective and the results would be consistent with the governments monetary policy, it will participate in forex trading and influence the exchange rates. A central bank generally participates by buying or selling the domestic currency so as to stabilize it at a level that it deems realistic and ideal. Judgment on the possible impact of governments monetary policy and prediction on future policy by other market players will affect the exchange rates as well.

2. Political Situation Growing global tension will result in instability in the forex market. Irregular inflow or outflow of currencies may result in significant fluctuations in exchange rates. The stability of a foreign currency is closely related to the political situation of that place. In general, the more stable the country is, the more stable its currency will be. We will illustrate how political factors influence exchange rates with some actual examples. At the end of 1987, the US Dollar was suffering from continuous depreciation. In order to stabilize the US Dollar, the G7 Finance Ministers and central bank governors released a joint statement on 23 December 1987 announcing plans for a large-scale intervention in the forex market. On 4 January 1988, the group started to dump Japanese Yen and Deutsche Mark in huge volumes while buying US Dollars. This resulted in a rebound of the US Dollar and maintained its exchange rate at a stable level.

For our second example, if you have been observing the Euro, you would have noticed that for three consecutive months during the Kosovo War, the Euro fell by about 10% against the US Dollar. One of the reasons was the downward pressure on the Euro caused by the Kosovo War.

3. Balance of Payments Balance of payments of a country will cause the exchange rate of its domestic currency to fluctuate. The balance of payments is a summary of all economic and financial transactions between the country and the rest of the world. It reflects the countrys international economic standing and influences its macroeconomic and microeconomic operations. The balance of payments can affect the supply and demand for foreign currencies as well as their exchange rates. An economic transaction, such as export, or capital transaction, such as inflow of foreign investment, will result in foreign revenue. Since foreign currencies are normally not allowed to circulate in the domestic market, there is a need to exchange these currencies into the domestic currency before circulation. This in turn creates a supply of foreign currencies in the forex market. On the other hand, an economic transaction, such as import, or capital transaction, such as outflow of investment to a foreign country, will result in foreign payments. In order to meet a countrys economic needs, it is necessary to convert the domestic currency into foreign currencies. This creates a demand for foreign currencies in the forex market. When all these transactions are consolidated into a table of international balance of payments, this would become the countrys foreign exchange balance of payments. If the foreign revenue is larger than payment, there will be a larger supply of foreign currencies. If the foreign payment is larger than revenue, then the demand for foreign currencies will be higher. When the supply of a foreign currency increases but its demand remains constant, it will directly drive the price of that foreign currency down and increase the value of the domestic currency. On the other hand, when the demand for a foreign currency increases but its supply remains constant, it will drive the price of the foreign currency up and decrease the value of the domestic currency.

4. Interest Rates When a countrys key interest rate rises higher or falls lower than that of another country, the currency of the nation with lower interest rate will be sold and the other currency will be bought so as to achieve higher returns. Given this increase in demand for the currency with higher interest rate, the value of that currency will rise against other currencies. Let us use an example to illustrate how interest rates affect exchange rates. Assume there are two countries, A and B. Both countries do not exercise foreign exchange control and capital funds can flow freely between them. As part of its monetary policy, Country A raises its

interest rate by 1% while the interest rate of Country B remains unchanged. There is a huge volume of liquid capital in the market that flows freely between these two countries, seeking out the best possible interest rate. With all other conditions remaining unchanged, as Country As key interest rate rises, a large portion of the liquid capital will flow into Country A. When the liquid capital flows out from Country B to Country A, a large amount of Country Bs currency will be sold in exchange for Country As currency. In this way, the demand for Country As currency will increase, strengthening it against Country Bs currency.

In fact, in todays globalized market, this scenario applies to the whole world. Over the years, the market trend has been shifting towards free capital mobility and elimination of foreign exchange restrictions. This enables liquid capitals(also known as hot money) to flow freely in the international market. A point to note though is that such capital will only be moved to a region or country with higher interest rate if their investors believe that the change in exchange rate will not nullify the returns gained with higher interest rate.

5. Market Judgment The forex market does not always follow a logical pattern of change. Exchange rates are also influenced by intangible factors such as emotions, judgments as well as analysis and comprehension of political and economic events. Market operators must be able to interpret reports and data such as balance of payments, inflation indicators and economic growth rates accurately. In reality, before these reports and data become available to the public, the market would have already made its own predictions and judgments, and these will be reflected in the prices. In the event that the actual reports and data deviate too much from the predictions and judgments of the market, huge fluctuations in exchange rates will occur. Accurate interpretation of reports and data alone is not adequate, a good forex trader must also be able to determine market reactions before the information becomes publicly available.

6. Speculation Speculation by major market operators is another crucial factor that influences exchange rates. In the forex market, the proportion of transactions that are directly related to international trade activities is relatively low. Most of the transactions are actually speculative tradings which cause currency movement and influence exchange rates. When the market predicts that a certain currency will rise in value, it may spark a buying frenzy that pushes the currency up and fulfill the prediction. Conversely, if the market expects a drop in value of a certain currency, people will start selling it away and the currency will depreciate.

For example, after World War II, the United States enjoyed a period of political stability, well-managed economy, low inflation rate and an average annual economic growth of about 5% in the early 1960s. At that time, all the other countries in the world were willing to use US Dollar as the mode of payment to safeguard their wealth. This causes a continuous rise in value of the US Dollar. However, from the end of 1960s to early 1970s, the Vietnam War, Watergate scandal, serious inflation, increased tax burden, trade deficit and declining economic growth caused the US Dollar to plunge in value.

7. Differentials in Inflation As a general rule, a country with a consistently lower inflation rate exhibits a rising currency value, as its purchasing power increases relative to other currencies. During the last half of the twentieth century, the countries with low inflation included Japan, Germany and Switzerland, while the U.S. and Canada achieved low inflation only later. Those countries with higher inflation typically see depreciation in their currency in relation to the currencies of their trading partners. This is also usually accompanied by higher interest rates. (To learn more, see Cost-Push Inflation Versus Demand-Pull Inflation.)

8. Public Debt Countries will engage in large-scale deficit financing to pay for public sector projects and governmental funding. While such activity stimulates the domestic economy, nations with large public deficits and debts are less attractive to foreign investors. The reason? A large debt encourages inflation, and if inflation is high, the debt will be serviced and ultimately paid off with cheaper real dollars in the future.

In the worst case scenario, a government may print money to pay part of a large debt, but increasing the money supply inevitably causes inflation. Moreover, if a government is not able to service its deficit through domestic means (selling domestic bonds, increasing the money supply), then it must increase the supply of securities for sale to foreigners, thereby lowering their prices. Finally, a large debt may prove worrisome to foreigners if they believe the country risks defaulting on its obligations. Foreigners will be less willing to own securities denominated in that currency if the risk of default is great. For this reason, the country's debt rating (as determined by Moody's or Standard & Poor's, for example) is a crucial determinant of its exchange rate.

9. Employment Outlook Employment levels have an immediate impact on economic growth. As unemployment increases, consumer spending falls because jobless workers have less money to spend on nonessentials. Those still employed worry for the future and also tend to reduce spending and save more of their income.

10. Change in Competitiveness If British goods become more attractive and competitive this will also cause the value of the Exchange Rate to rise. This is important for determining the long run value of the Pound. This is similar factor to low inflation.

CONCLUSION
The exchange rate of the currency in which a portfolio holds the bulk of its investments determines that portfolio's real return. A declining exchange rate obviously decreases the purchasing power of income and capital gains derived from any returns. Moreover, the exchange rate influences other income factors such as interest rates, inflation and even capital gains from domestic securities. While exchange rates are determined by numerous complex factors that often leave even the most experienced economists flummoxed, investors should still have some understanding of how currency values and exchange rates play an important role in the rate of return on their investments .

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