Exchange Rate Now!

Just when everyone thought that we had recovered from the global financial crisis which started in late 2008, the Dow Jones, NASDAQ and S&P 500 are now reeling from a long overdue aftermath and plunged in late Feb 2010.

The direct impact on forex led the a spike in US Dollar against major currencies like the Euro and the Japanese Yen. The hope is now on the drop in unemployment rate to stabilise the economy and bring back the much needed confidence into the stock markets around the world and as a result bring more predictability into the forex market.

As at 6 Feb 2010, the US Dollar was trading at 

1 U.S. dollar = 0.733460466 Euros

or  Euro = 1.3634 U.S. dollars. Nowhere near the levels last seen in Dec 2008 but surely a worrying sign even for USA, as a appreciating US Dollar may hamper exports and put a damper on economic growth.

Adding more complexity to the equation is the result concern on European debts. Countries in European Union (EU) like Greece, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and other countries in Europe like Iceland still could not shake off the stigma of an imminent collapse in financial system. If this scenario truly materialize in the Eurozone, it could lead to (more…)

During the global economic/financial crisis that started in late 2008, many investors liquidated their positions into cash holdings and purchased heavily into both the Japanese Yen as well as the US Dollar, leading to a higher exchange rate for these 2 currencies against the rest of the global currencies.

For example, 1 Australian Dollar was trading at 56.4 Japanese Yen in February 2009. The Australian dollar (as well as the rest of the global currencies) has recovered and is now trading at 1 Australian Dollar compared to 77.5 Japanese Yen.

Similarly, 1 Australian Dollar was trading at 0.63 US Dollar in February 2009. The Australian dollar has recovered and is now trading at 1 Australian Dollar compared to 0.82 US Dollar.

The US Dollar (USD) and the Japanese Yen (JPY) are among the most traded pair of currencies in the world. Amongst themselves however, the exchange rate fluctuations is (more…)