Understanding how currency exchange rates work is important for businesses, investors, currency traders and, of course, vacationers. But what causes currency exchange rates to fluctuate up and down? FX 101 breaks down the world of currency exchange, from the fundamental to the complex.
Here are 10 factors that affect currency exchange rates:
1. Supply and Demand
Currency can be bought and sold just like stocks, bonds, or other investments. And just like these other investments – and almost anything else you can buy or sell – supply and demand influences price. Supply and demand is one of the most basic economic principles, but nevertheless can serve as a good starting point to understand why currency exchange rates fluctuate.
2. Political Stability
Currency is issued by governments. In order for a currency to retain its value (or even exist at all) the government which backs it has to be strong. Countries with uncertain futures (due to revolutions, war or other factors) usually have much weaker currencies. Currency traders don’t want to risk losing their investment and so will invest elsewhere. With little demand for the currency the price drops.
3. Economic Strength
Economic uncertainty is as big of a factor as political instability. A currency backed by a stable government isn’t likely to be strong if the economy is in the toilet. Worse, a lagging economy may have a difficult time attracting investors, and without investment the economy will suffer even more. Currency traders know this so they will avoid buying a currency backed by a weak economy. Again, this causes demand and value to drop.
A strong economy usually leads to a strong currency, while a floundering economy will result in a fall in value. This is why GDP, employment levels and other economic indicators are monitored so closely by currency traders read more https://www.daneshexchange.com/.
4. Inflation
Low inflation increases the value of a currency, whereas high inflation usually makes the value of a currency drop. If a candybar costs $2 today, but there is 2% inflation then that same candy bar will cost $2.02 in a year – that’s inflation. Some inflation is good, it means that the economy is growing but, high inflation is usually the result of an increase in the supply of currency without an equal growth in the real value of a country’s assets.
Think of it like this, if there is more of something then it’s usually worth less – that’s why we pay so much for rare autographs and collectors’ items. With more currency in circulation the value of that currency will drop. Inflation results from a growing economy, this is why China, India and other emerging economies typically have high growth and high inflation – and their currencies are worth less. Zimbabwe experienced hyperinflation throughout the late 1990’s and 2000’s reaching as high as 79.6 billion percent in 2008, rendering the currency near worthless.
But wait, right now many European countries have low, or even negative inflation so how is it that the euro is dropping? Well, inflation is just one of many factors which impact currency exchange rates.
5. Interest rates
When the Bank of Canada (or any other central bank) raises interest rates it’s essentially offering lenders (like banks) a higher return on investment. High interest rates are attractive to currency investors, because they can earn interest on the currency that they have bought. So when a central bank raises interest rates investors flock to buy their currency which raises the value of that currency and, in turn, boosts the economy.
But remember, no one single factor influences currency exchange. Often times a country will offer a very high interest rate but the value of that currency will still fall. This is because despite the incentive of profiting from a high interest rate, traders may be wary of the economic and political risks, or other factors – and thus refrain from investing.
6. Trade Balance
A country’s balance of trade (meaning how much a country imports vs how much that country exports) is an important factor behind exchange rates. Simply put, balance of trade is the value of imports minus the value of exports.
