Exchange Rate Now!

Panic hits the air recently when the slide of US Dollar continued against the Euro, reaching a low of 1 Euro (EUR) = 1.4905 US Dollar (USD). Forex traders who bet against the US Dollar are now raking in big profits and the contrarians reeling from their Hugh losses.

The trend of US Dollar slide against the Euro has been widely fore-casted. This is not surprising, on the back of budget deficit in the US faced by the Obama administration as well as increased confidence in the global economy, prompting institutional investors to move out from the US Dollar reserves into assets, alternative currencies like the Euro and even commodities. Most forex traders are now betting against further depreciation of the the US Dollar.

The imminent depreciation in US Dollar further down the road is widely anticipated. It is unlikely that despite his eloquence, President Obama can talk his way into (more…)

The RMB exchange rate seldom fluctuates against the US Dollar, which indirectly implies that the Chinese government tightly controls the value of the Chinese Yuan (also known as the Renmimbi, RMB). Therefore, there is no good time to really aim for the best exchange rate for RMB, with the RMB oscillating around a narrow band against the US Dollar. RMB/USD exchange rate hardly seems exciting for forex traders – this despite the very fact that in 2005, the RMB-to-US-dollar pegging system is being switched to a basket of foreign currencies rather than against just the US Dollar. 

With Chinese exports still steadily increasing despite concerns over quality, there is a fear that the Chinese Central Bank will continue to devalue the Renminbi to further drive Chinese exports. This possiblity cannot be ruled out, even through further depreciation of the Chinese Yuan/RMB is likely to be a series of minute downward adjustments.

At present, the global economy has just started resuming a growth trend after experiencing the worst financial crisis of the century. The prospects for a total revival still remains unclear, as uncertainties over the global financial markets have increased (more…)

New Zealand is often viewed as a country with slow growth – where things are made or grown rather than an interesting country of bright ideas and high productivity. As such, the general consensus in the early 1990s is for the New Zealand Dollar (also known as the “Kiwi”) to continue a long term depreciation against currencies of more “interesting” origin, like the Japanese Yen, the US Dollar and even the Australian Dollar.

Indeed, between year 1996 – 2000, the New Zealand dollar depreciated from 1 USD = 1.41 NZD to an exchange rate of 1 USD = 2.5 NZD, a steep 44% decline. The depreciation trend has since reversed over the years. For a while, it seems like things are not as gloomy for the New Zealand Dollar as predicted – until the financial crisis which started in Oct 2008 rocked the stability of the New Zealand dollar again.

From a rate of 1 USD = 1.49 NZD just before the start of the financial crisis in Sep 2008, the New Zealand Dollar depreciated to 1 USD = 1.94 NZD in Feb 2009. This represents a Hugh swing of 35% drop in value of the New Zealand Dollar. Fortunately for most New Zealanders, their national currency has rebounded back to a current level of 1 US Dollar compared to 1.44 New Zealand Dollar.

While most currency and forex traders attribute this trading trend as consistent with other major currencies (where an increased risk appetite from a global economy recovery (more…)