Business, Legal & Accounting Glossary
Rate at which one currency may be converted into another. The exchange rate is used when simply converting one currency to another (such as for the purposes of travel to another country), or for engaging in speculation or trading in the foreign exchange market. There are a wide variety of factors which influence the exchange rate, such as interest rates, inflation, and the state of politics and the economy in each country. also called rate of exchange or foreign exchange rate or currency exchange rate.
The exchange rate is the rate at which one currency is exchanged for another, at fair, full present value.
An exchange rate is a price or ratio at which one nation’s currency can be converted into that of another. Simply put, the exchange rate is how much of one denomination it takes to pay for another. The exchange rate for every currency is different. That means that the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and a Euro is different from that between the dollar and a Japanese Yen. An exchange rate is subject to various economic and market forces. Thus, a floating exchange rate may flow freely, exhibiting movement from day to day. Conversely, an exchange rate may be fixed, and therefore independent of market forces. A fixed exchange rate is influenced by the government or central bank, mainly for the purpose of procuring more stable international trade.
There are many levels to understanding how the exchange rate affects individuals (as tourists or investors), businesses that operate in other countries, institutional investors that trade currencies, and the financial health of a country’s overarching economy.
Let’s start easy. If you’re an American planning a trip to Russia, you’ll want to know how many rubles you’re going to receive for each dollar. Use one of many currency exchange calculators found on the Internet and you might learn (for simplicity’s sake) that one dollar will get you two rubles. That’s usually a good thing, depending on the purchasing power of each currency. If one dollar will buy you a candy bar and one ruble will buy you a candy bar, you just doubled your candy-buying ability.
Take that to a country-wide level and it would be enticing for America (with the stronger currency) to import Russian goods. But Russia (with the weaker currency) would be less likely to buy goods from America, as the ruble has less purchasing power. However, Russia might get a bump in tourism as Americans realize they can get more for their money over there.
So a weak currency can actually help a country’s economy by making its exports cheap. Also, if a company operates in a foreign country with a stronger currency, this can bolster its balance sheet when the foreign currency is converted to the home currency. In the example above, for instance, $100 earned in the U.S. would translate to 200 rubles.
Constantly changing exchange rates are indicators of how well a specific economy is doing. Everyone wants to keep tabs on whether the (insert currency here) is up or down.
What affects exchange rates? It’s complicated. Currencies trade in something called foreign exchange markets, or forex. Individuals typically don’t trade in this market; big financial institutions, multinational corporations, and hedge funds would be more typical participants. Just like with stocks, the supply and demand for each currency fluctuates continuously. Is a country facing inflation or other economic trouble? That could make its currency less valued. And that could in turn hurt the economy.
The investment that you own does its bookkeeping usually in the local currency. In the US, always in US dollars. In other countries, it can vary. So be sure you understand what currency they are using.
Reports are almost always issued with numbers in that currency. And for comparison purposes that is usually the best way to deal with things. It lets you know if the company is doing better compared to last year or last quarter or not, and numbers like dividends paid or long-term debt can be converted to ratios or percentages and related directly to earnings.
Of course, you want to know what the investment pays in your currency, or what it costs or is worth. Those numbers change daily with currency exchange rates. That complicates things. If you take for example per-share earnings for the last five years, you can convert each of those numbers based on today’s exchange rates or on the exchange rate on the date reported, etc. So you get two values for each data point. Which one matters? Usually, you want the constant dollar one for investment decisions, but if your investment is intended to benefit from changes in currency exchange rates, then you want to use the adjusted value.
Another aspect is how much of the company’s earnings are made in foreign currencies which then get converted to home currency equivalents for reporting.
The bottom line is, exchange rates add another level of complexity which can benefit a savvy investor, but much depends on what you plan to do with the information. So be aware and select accordingly.
Currency
Carry trade
International trade
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This glossary post was last updated: 21st November, 2021 | 0 Views.