International Economics

FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKETS

AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES

Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong

(University of Economics and Business, VNU)
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 PART III: INTERNATIONAL FINANCE

 3.1. Balance of Payments

 3.2. Foreign exchange markets and foreign exchange rates

 Definition, characteristics, functions and actors in foreign exchange
markets
 Exchange rates: Definition, classification and the equilibrium
exchange rates
Contents

 Factors impact on exchange rates

 Arbitrage, hedging and speculation in foreign exchange market

 3.3. International Monetary System

1 FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKETS
 Foreign currency

1. DEFINITION
Gold
The foreign
exchange market
(Forex / FX market) is
the market in which Means of payment quoted in foreign
individuals, firms, currency, e.g. checks, payment cards,
and financial bills of exchange, promissory notes…
institutions buy and
sell foreign
exchange.
Valuable papers quoted in foreign
currency, e.g. government bonds,
corporate bonds, shares,…
 • The worldwide volume of foreign exchange trading is enormous
and has significantly increased in recent years

TOTAL
MERCHANDISE
EXPORT (1 year - 2013)
18,609
Characteristics

US$ billion

Source: Bank for International Settlements, Triennial Central Bank survey

 • FX trading takes place in many financial centers;
Trading is concentrated in the largest ones
(London, New York, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Singapore, etc.)
Characteristics
 • FX trading centers are connected electronically 24h/day
Characteristics The market never sleeps
 • Currencies traded in FOREX market:
 Most frequently traded: USD, EUR , JPY
 Increasingly important: JPY, MXN, CNY
Characteristics

Source: Bank for International Settlements, Triennial Central Bank survey

 • Currencies traded in FOREX market:

USD is often referred to as the dominant vehicle currency

because:
 The USD is widely used in international transactions,
including the transactions that do not involve US
residents
 The USD serves a unit of account, the medium of
exchange and store of value in both domestic and
Characteristics

international transactions.
 • No significant difference between exchange rate
quoted in different financial centers

€ 1 = $1.1 in New York

€ 1 = $1.2 in London
-> use $110 to buy € 100 in New York
-> sell € 100 in London for $120
-> profits of USD 10
Characteristics

In NY: demand for EUR increases

-> USD price of EUR increase ( 1 EUR >1.1 USD)
In LD: Supply of EUR increases
-> USD price of EUR decreases (1EUR <1.2 USD)
-> Until the USD price of EUR equals in both markets
 Functions of Foreign Exchange Market
1. Transfer from one nation’s currency to another nations’ currency
-> Facilitating international trade, tourism and investment
Time consuming, inefficient

U.S importers U.K importers

Foreign
U.S tourists exchange U.K tourists
markets $
$
U.S investors U.K investors
£
£
2. Providing some insurance against foreign exchange risks
(The FX market provides the facilities for hedging and speculations)
3. State’s tool of macroeconomics management: The Central Bank increases
or reduces the foreign exchange reserve to influence on the exchange rate
 Central
bank
Foreign
exchange
Commercial brokers
banks
Individuals,
firms and
households,

1. Immediate users: Individuals and firms can sell (suppliers) or

buy (users) foreign exchange in the foreign exchange market.
2. Commercial banks: Banks operate as a clearing house for the
suppliers and users of foreign exchange.
Actors

3. Foreign exchange brokers: brokers act as intermediaries

between commercial banks (the interbank or whole sale
market)
4. The central bank act as the seller/buyer of last resort when
there is an excess supply or excess demand in FOREX market.
 • The retail part of the market is the forex trading that is
done by banks with their customers

• The interbank part of the foreign exchange market

involves banks trading with other banks in forex
Actors
2 EXCHANGE RATES
Definition of exchange rate

 Exchange rate is the PRICE of one country's currency in units

of another country's currency
 An exchange rate can be quoted in two ways:
• Direct way (American way): as the amount of domestic
currency that one unit of foreign currency can buy
1 unit of foreign currency = x units of domestic currency
E.g. In VN: 1 USD = 20.000 VND

• Indirect way (European way): as the amount of foreign

currency that one unit of domestic currency can buy .
1 unit of domestic currency = x units of foreign currency
E.g. In EU: 1 EUR = 1.3 USD
In GB: 1 GBP = 1.5 USD
Exercises
1. Which is a direct quotation and
which is an indirect quotation from
the US perspective?

a. 1 GBP = 1.5 USD

b. 1 USD = 120 JPY

Answer: a. Direct; b. Indirect

2. Which way of quotation is applying in

Vietnam?

Answer: Direct
1 USD = 21.000 VND
 Equilibrium Foreign Exchange Rate
• Under a flexible exchange rate system
R = $/€
S€

1.5 G
1.0 E

H
0.5
D€

0 100 200250 Million Eur/day

The exchange rate is the PRICE of domestic price of foreign currency or the
PRICE of foreign currency in terms of domestic currency
-> Basically, the equilibrium exchange rate is determined at the intersection
of the nation’s aggregate demand and supply curves for the foreign currency
(E.g. R=1.0)
Depreciation and Appreciation of a Currency

• Currency Depreciation occurs when the value of one currency falls against
another currency

E.g. Before 1 USD = 20.000 VND-> Now 1 USD = 21.000 VND

Price of U.S T-Shirt $20 -> before 400.000đ, now 420.000đ

-> Vietnamese buy less U.S T-Shirt
Price of VN T-Shirt 200.000đ -> before $10, now $9.52
-> American buy more VN T-Shirt

-> VND depreciates against USD <-> USD appreciates against VND
-> Depreciation encourages export, reduces import
-> Improve trade account and current account
Depreciation and Appreciation of a Currency

• Currency Appreciation occurs when the value of one currency rises

against another currency/ refers to a decline in the domestic price of the
foreign currency

E.g. Before 1 USD = 20.000 VND -> Now 1 USD = 19.000 VND

 Price of U.S T-Shirt $20 -> before 400.000đ, now 380.000đ

-> Vietnamese buy more U.S T-Shirt
 Price of VN T-Shirt 200.000đ -> before $10, now $10.53
-> American buy less VN T-Shirt

-> VND appreciates against USD <-> USD depreciates against VND
-> Appreciation facilitates import, restrain export
-> Worsen trade account and current account
Devaluation and Revaluation of a Currency

• Under fixed exchange rate system

– To get a desired/fixed exchange rate, the central banks
have to intervene into the supply curve of foreign currency
through buying/selling foreign exchange from/into FOREX
market.
– If a country’s government acts to reduce the fixed value of
its currency (buying foreign currency), the change is called
Devaluation.
– If a country’s government acts to raise the fixed value of its
currency (selling foreign currency), the change is called
Revaluation.
Exercises
3. If the U.S. wants to devaluate
the USD against the GBP, what
should Federal Reserve System
(FED, U.S Central bank) do?

Answer:
- It should sell USD or/and buy GBP
in the foreign exchange market
 Classification

• Spot rate
– A spot transaction involves agreement between two parties to
exchange currencies and execute the deal immediately or
within two business days.
– Spot rate is the rate agreed in spot transactions (reported on a
real-time basis on many financial websites).

E.g. Today, A goes to VCB to buy USD

The spot rate (the rate at that time) is 1 USD = 20.000 VND.
VCB -> A: 1.000 USD and A -> VCB: 20.000.000 VND
immediately or within two business days.
 Classification

• Forward rate
– A forward transaction involves agreement between two
parties to exchange currencies on a specific future date and at
a specific rate that agreed today.
– Forward rate is the rate agreed in forward transactions, often
quoted for 30, 90 or 180 days into the future

E.g. On 01/01, A&B agree to exchange €100 with USD in 3-

months (01/04) from today at $1.01 = € 1.
+ No currencies paid out at the time the contract is signed (01/01)
+ Three months later (01/04), A get the €100 from B for $101,
regardless of what the spot rate is at that time.
Classification

• Forward rate (continue)

- The different between the current forward rate value of a
currency and its current spot exchange rate value is
identified as the forward premium or forward discount
- If the forward rate is below the current spot rate, the
foreign currency is said to be at a forward discount
- If the forward rate is above the current spot rate, the
foreign currency is said to be at a forward premium.
Classification

FR  SR 12
FDorFP  x x100
SR t

FD: Forward discount

FP: Forward premium
FR: Forward rate
SR: Spot rate
t: term (e.g. 3m forward rate -> t=3)

E.g. The spot rate is $1 = €1 and the

3m forward rate is $0.99 = €1
0.99  1 12
FD  x x100  4%
1 3
Exercises
4. The spot rate is $1 = €1 and the six
month forward rate is $1.01 = €1.
Calculate the FD or FP in these cases

5. The 3 month forward rate is 1EUR=

1.21 USD while the spot rate is 1EUR =
1.20 USD. What is the annualized forward
premium or discount of the euro?
A. 6.67 percent premium
B. 6.67 percent discount
C. 3.33 percent premium
D. 3.33 percent discount
Classification

• Cross exchange rate

– the exchange rate between a pair of currencies (other than
$) determined when the exchange rate between each of
currencies with respect to the $ is established.

– For example: $2 = £1; $1.25 = €1

-> £1 = €1.6
 Exercises
6. Suppose the exchange rates between
euro, Yen and dollar are as follows:
1 dollar = 95 Yen
1 euro = 1.3112 dollars

What is the cross rate between Yen and

euro
A. 1 euro = 124.5640 Yen
B. 1 euro = 98.3133 Yen
C. 1 euro = 72.4527 Yen
D. None of the above
 
 Exercises
7. Suppose the exchange rates between
British pound, euro and dollar are as
follows:
1 pound = 1.5672 dollars
1 euro = 1.3112 dollars
What is the cross-rate between British
pound and euro
A. 1 pound = 0.8367 euro
B. 1 pound = 1.1952 euro
C. 1 pound = 2.0549 euro
D. None of the above
 
Classification

– Bid rate
The rate at which the quoting bank is willing to buy the foreign exchange.
– Ask (Offer rate)
The rate at which the quoting bank is will to sell the foreign exchange.
– Bank note rate
The rate applied to foreign coins, paper money, travel’s check and credit cards
– Transaction rate
The rate applied to FX deposit accounts
– Opening rate
The rate of the first FX contract of the day
– Closing rate
The rate of the last FX contract of the day
Tỷ giá các ngoại tệ của Hội sở chính Ngân hàng TMCP Ngoại thương Việt Nam ngày 08/11/2013
           
Mua tiền mặt/Bid Mua chuyển khoản/ Bid Bán/ Ask rate/ Offer
Mã NT Tên ngoại tệ rate (Cash) rate (transaction) rate  
AUD AUST.DOLLAR 19657.77 19776.43 20034.17  
CAD CANADIAN DOLLAR 19872.38 20052.86 20314.19  
CHF SWISS FRANCE 22703.75 22863.8 23161.77  
DKK DANISH KRONE 0 3752.69 3832.14  
EUR EURO 28010.58 28094.86 28461  
GBP BRITISH POUND 33494.84 33730.96 34102.28  
HKD HONGKONG DOLLAR 2679.61 2698.5 2744.62  
INR INDIAN RUPEE 0 331.29 345.14  
JPY JAPANESE YEN 206.06 208.14 215.59  
KRW SOUTH KOREAN WON 0 18.03 22.05  
KWD KUWAITI DINAR 0 73845.91 75409.2  
MYR MALAYSIAN RINGGIT 0 6574.42 6660.1  
NOK NORWEGIAN KRONER 0 3450.96 3524.02  
RUB RUSSIAN RUBLE 0 590.47 722.37  
SAR SAUDI RIAL 0 5458.46 5801.6  
SEK SWEDISH KRONA 0 3196.07 3250.7  
SGD SINGAPORE DOLLAR 16690.42 16808.08 17095.38  
THB THAI BAHT 659.59 659.59 687.16  
USD US DOLLAR 21080 21080 21145  
   
Tỷ giá được cập nhật lúc 08/11/2013 09:00 và chỉ mang tính chất tham khảo  

http://www.vietcombank.com.vn/exchangerates/
 Exercises
8. Suppose the exchange rate between
dong and dollar is quoted at TECHCOBANK
as follows: 21027~21123 (bid-ask rates).
Suppose you need to purchase 1000
dollars. How much do you have to pay?

A. 21123000 dong
B. 21027000 dong
C. 21095000 dong
D. None of the above
 
 Exercises
9. Suppose the exchange rate between
dong and US dollar is quoted at
TECHCOBANK as follows: 20860~20910
(bid-ask rates). You sell 1000 dollars to the
bank. How much would you receive?
A. 20910000 dong
B. 20860000 dong
C. 20900000 dong
D. None of the above
 
Homework

Preparation for the next class

- Read D. Salvatore, chapter 14,
p446-485
- Read K.T.T.Mai, chapter 6, section
6.2, 6.3
THANK YOU!