chapter 17 the foreign exchange market. © 2013 pearson education, inc. all rights reserved.14-2...

Chapter 17

The Foreign Exchange Market

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 14-2

Foreign Exchange I

• Exchange rate: price of one currency in terms of another

• Foreign exchange market: the financial market where exchange rates are determined

• Spot transaction: immediate (two-day) exchange of bank deposits– Spot exchange rate

• Forward transaction: the exchange of bank deposits at some specified future date– Forward exchange rate


Foreign Exchange II

• Appreciation: a currency rises in value relative to another currency

• Depreciation: a currency falls in value relative to another currency

• When a country’s currency appreciates, the country’s goods abroad become more expensive and foreign goods in that country become less expensive and vice versa

• Over-the-counter market mainly banks


Figure 1 Exchange Rates, 1990–2014

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED database: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/.


Exchange Rates in the Long Run

• Law of one price• Theory of Purchasing Power Parity

assumptions:– All goods are identical in both countries– Trade barriers and transportation costs are low– Many goods and services are not traded across

borders


Factors that Affect Exchange Rates in the Long Run

• Relative price levels• Trade barriers• Preferences for domestic versus foreign

goods• Productivity


Figure 2 Purchasing Power Parity, United States/United Kingdom, 1973–2014 (Index: March 1973 = 100.)



Summary Table 1 Factors That Affect Exchange Rates in the Long Run


Exchange Rates in the Short Run: A Supply and Demand Analysis

• An exchange rate is the price of domestic assets in terms of foreign assets

• Supply curve for domestic assets– Assume amount of domestic assets is fixed

(supply curve is vertical)• Demand curve for domestic assets

– Most important determinant is the relative expected return of domestic assets

– At lower current values of the dollar (everything else equal), the quantity demanded of dollar assets is higher


Figure 3 Equilibrium in the Foreign Exchange Market


Explaining Changes in Exchange Rates

• Shifts in the demand for domestic assets– Domestic interest rate– Foreign interest rate– Expected future exchange rate


Figure 4 Response to an Increase in the Domestic Interest Rate, iD


Figure 5 Response to an Increase in the Foreign Interest Rate, iF


Figure 6 Response to an Increase in the Expected Future Exchange Rate, Ee

t+1


Summary Table 2 Factors That Shift the Demand Curve for Domestic Assets and Affect the Exchange Rate


Application: Changes in the Equilibrium Exchange Rate

• Changes in Interest Rates– When domestic real interest rates raise, the

domestic currency appreciates.– When domestic interest rates rise due to an

expected increase in inflation, the domestic currency depreciates.

• Changes in the Money Supply– A higher domestic money supply causes the

domestic currency to depreciate.


Application: Changes in the Equilibrium Exchange Rate

• Exchange Rate Overshooting• Monetary Neutrality

– In the long run, a one-time percentage rise in the money supply is matched by the same one-time percentage rise in the price level

• The exchange rate falls by more in the short run than in the long run– Helps to explain why exchange rates exhibit so

much volatility


Application: Effects of Changes in Interest Rates on the Equilibrium Exchange Rate

• Changes in Interest Rates– When domestic real interest rates raise, the

domestic currency appreciates.– When domestic interest rates rise due to an

expected increase in inflation, the domestic currency depreciates.

• Changes in the Money Supply– A higher domestic money supply causes the

domestic currency to depreciate.


Figure 7 Effect of a Rise in the Domestic Interest Rate as a Result of an Increase in Expected Inflation

Step 1. A rise in the domestic real interest as a result of an increase in expected inflation shifts the demand curve to the left . . .

Step 2. leading to a fall in the exchange rate.

Exchange Rate, Et

(euros/$)

E1

1

S

D2 D1

Quantity of Dollar Assets

E22


Application: Why are Exchange Rates So Volatile?

• The volatility of exchange rates is due, in part, to the fact that they are based on unstable expectations regarding an uncertain future.


Application: The Dollar and Interest Rates

• The value of the dollar and the measure of real interest rates tend to rise and fall together.

• Our model of exchange rate determination helps explain the rise in the dollar in the early 1980s and fall thereafter.– a rise in the U.S. real interest rate raises the relative

expected return on dollar assets, which leads to purchases of dollar assets that raise the exchange rate


Figure 8 Value of the Dollar and Interest Rates, 1973–2014



FIGURE 8 Effect of a Rise in the Money Supply


Application: The Dollar and Interest Rates

• While there is a strong correspondence between real interest rates and the exchange rate, the relationship between nominal interest rates and exchange rate movements is not nearly as pronounced

chapter 17 the foreign exchange market. © 2013 pearson education, inc. all rights reserved.14-2...

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