1. Currency Exchange Rates

2. Who is affected by a change in the currency exchange rate?
U.S. tourists going to a foreign country
Foreign tourists coming to the U.S.
Consumers
Hospitality industry catering to foreigners
Companies that export
Companies that import
Companies that produce at home and sell at home
U.S. workers

3. Who benefits from a rising U.S. Dollar?
U.S. tourists going to a foreign country
Consumers
Companies that import

4. Who is hurt by a rising U.S. Dollar?
Foreign tourists coming to the U.S.
Hospitality industry catering to foreigners
Companies that export
Companies that produce at home and sell at home
U.S. workers

5. What is a strong Dollar?
The dollar is considered strong versus another currency if it gives you more purchasing power in this country.
Example: You can buy a beer at a beech in San Diego for an average of $ 4. If you go to Antalya, Turkey, you can buy a beer for about 6 lira. The currency exchange rate is: 1$ = 2.5 lira. Therefore, you get the beer in Antalya for $2.40. That means the U.S. dollar is stronger than the lira.
If you go to a beach in Kristiansand, Norway, the average price of a beer is about 44 Krone. The currency exchange rate is: 1$ = 8 Krone. Therefore, you get the beer in Kristiansand for $ 5.5. That is, the Norwegian Krone is stronger than the U.S. Dollar and much stronger than the Turkish lira.

6. A strong dollar is a sign of a strong America?
Ronald Reagan
Two forces:
Consumer psychology and its impact on the real economy
Eroding competitiveness of the U.S. industry

7. Who Determines the Price of Currencies?
1. Free Market
Exchange Rates are Determined by the Supply and Demand for the Currencies.
• free float (no intervention)
$, €, ₤, Swiss Frank,

8. 2. Government
Central Banks intervene in the currency markets
• “dirty”or managed float (some intervention)
Now more rare but was quite common for:
€, ₤, ¥
• fixed exchange rate or “peg” (unlimited intervention at a fixed rate)
Chinese Yuan

9. Factors Influencing the Supply and Demand
of Currencies
Trade
Increasing imports are increasing the supply for the domestic currency; increasing exports are increasing the demand for the domestic currency.
An export surplus will increase the value of the domestic currency (ceteris paribus)

10. Investment
Capital exports increase the supply of the domestic currency; capital imports increase the demand for the domestic currency.
The domestic currency will increase (decrease) if the country receives more (less) foreign investment than it invests in foreign countries (ceteris paribus).

11. International Financial Transactions

12. Inflation and Currencies
Purchasing Power Parity
Real exchange rate (Exchange rate after removing the effects of inflation) will stay the same through arbitrage in markets for goods
Absolute Purchasing Power Parity
The purchasing power of the dollar is the same everywhere in the world
Relative Purchasing Power Parity
Exchange rates move to offset differences in rates of inflation.

13. Purchasing Power Parity Mechanism
If a product has a different price in different countries after exchanging the currency, arbitrage opportunities are being created. The ensuing trade and exchange of currencies will go on until the arbitrage opportunity disappears.

14. Purchasing Power Parity Mechanism
Example:
A basket of goods costs $ 100 in the U.S. The same basket of goods costs Euro 80 in Europe. The currency exchange rate is:
1 Euro = $. Can you make money by trading?

15. Purchasing Power Parity Mechanism
A year later: The basket of goods costs $ 100 in the U.S. The same basket of goods costs Euro 80 in Europe. The currency exchange rate is: 1 Euro = 1 $. (= the dollar got stronger) Can you make money by trading?
Buy the basket in Europe for Euro 80 ( = $ 80) and sell in the U.S. for $ 100
U.S. imports ( = trade deficit), Europe exports ( = trade surplus)
Dollar goes down Euro goes up until new exchange rate:
1 Euro = 1.25 $

16. Purchasing Power Parity in the Real World
Big Mac Index (The Economist)
Pacific Exchange Rate Service:

17. The impact of exchange rate movements differs depending on:
whether the item affected is real (goods, real estate…) or nominal (bond at maturity…)

18. Example: 100% Russian Inflation
Real Asset Rb value x exchange = $ value
before Rb 100, ($/Rb) $ 4,000
after(mon.) Rb 200, ($/Rb) $ 4,000
Nominal Asset Rb value x exchange = $ value
after(mon.) Rb 100, ($/Rb) $ 2,000

19. Nominal Exchange Rate:
Cited Exchange Rate e = $/Rb
Real Exchange Rate:
e’ = e (1 + П RUS ) / (1 + П US)
e’ = real Exchange Rate
П RUS = Russian Inflation (1 or 100%)
П US = U.S. Inflation (0)
e’ = .02 {(1 + 1)/(1+0)} = .04 $/Rb

20. Equal return on $ investment
Interest Rates and Currencies
Interest Rate Parity
Return on a dollar invested must be the same everywhere through arbitrage in financial markets
Equal return on $ investment
(1+iUS) = 𝑓 𝑒 (1+iGer)
e = $/€ Spot market
f = $/€ Forward market

21. Interest Rates and Currencies
Interest Rate Parity
Risk adjusted return on a dollar invested must be the same everywhere.
Interest Parity Mechanism
A difference in the return on a dollar invested in a foreign currency creates arbitrage opportunities. The ensuing investment decisions will go on until the arbitrage opportunity disappears.

22. Example Interest Rate Parity
A U.S. investor thinks about investing $100 either in one year U.S. T-Bills at 2% interest rate or in one year Swiss notes at 4% interest rate. It is assumed that the default risk is the same.
The return of the investment after one year n the U.S. is:
(1 + iUS ) X 100 = $102
2. In order to invest in Switzerland the investor has to:
a. Buy Swiss Frank on the Spot Market. The Spot Rate is 1$ = SF or 1SF = $0.6667
He gets 150 SF
b. Invest in Swiss notes. The expected return after one year is:
(1 + iSF ) X 150 = 156 SF
c. Hedge the currency exchange rate risk for 156 SF. He has to sell 156 SF in one year at the forward rate, using a forward contract. The forward rate is : 1$ = SF or 1SF = $0.6539
d. After one year he collects SF 156 from the Swiss Notes and sells SF at the forward rate using his forward contract entered into a year ago. The return of the investment in Dollar after one year is:
156/ = $102