With the advancements in digital technologies, getting access to foreign exchange markets isn’t considered a big deal these days. This is especially relevant during periods of economic uncertainty when more and more people are looking for safe havens for their funds, and eventually find those havens in foreign currencies.
The Impact of Monetary Policy on Currency Strength
However, taking decisions on how to speculate on a particular currency isn’t an easy task for beginners who don’t know how to evaluate the currency’s strength.
In this short review, we will try to explain how the process of evaluating the most robust currencies globally is conducted and what impact national institutions might have on this process.
Getting Started: Fundamental Analysis
Let’s start with the basics: before you make any trading decisions, you need to conduct a thorough fundamental analysis. This is a process that helps you to research the current or potential value of any asset by studying related financial aspects.
By examining publicly available data, you can assess the current status of a particular security and design a plan on how to respond to the upcoming challenges related to it.
When it comes to foreign exchange and currencies traded there, fundamental analysts take very close attention to the monetary policy of the nation issuing a particular currency.
Monetary policy is a general term that includes a number of aspects that are quite important for the efficient fundamental analysis of forex. Now, we can take a closer look at the concept of monetary policy and its importance for traders and analysts.
Who Makes Decisions Regarding Monetary Policies
To begin with, each nation has a particular financial institution that acts as a monetary authority and aims to provide price stability in the country using available means. As a rule, these institutions are called central banks.
So, central banks are authorized to set special rules to control the supply of funds from and into the country. These rules are usually derived from the general economic strategy of the country because they should act as reasonable responses to the current price levels in the country and national economic growth.
One of the most important aspects of a basic monetary policy is control over the interest rate, which is one of the factors determining the cost of money inside the country and its exchange rate in comparison to international monetary units.
As a general rule, the lower the interest rate is, the more stable the economic situation in the country is considered. Let’s see the correlation between this factor and the currency strength.
The Importance of Interest Rates for Forex Traders
Foremost, we need to define that interest rates are percentages at which banks and other businesses borrow funds from a country’s central banks.
To fully understand its impact on the currency’s strength, it’s necessary to realize that this coin has two sides. On the one hand, in the modern world of the market economy, it’s impossible to exist without financial investments.
Thus, higher interest rates are beneficial as they attract foreign investors who, seeing higher interest rates, invest in a certain currency with the hope to receive bigger returns.
However, on the other hand, the involvement of huge amounts of foreign capital weakens a national currency. Besides, central banks usually make decisions to hike national interest rates when they are looking for the means to fight surging inflation as it can damage the national economy, slow down its growth, and concern ordinary citizens.
That’s why, considering the ambiguity of the concept, when setting national interest rates, central banks have to take into account numerous factors, the most important of which are the following:
- Political Situation: Overall political stability has crucial importance for ensuring currency strength. This stability means a confident future for foreign inventors and their attention to the goods and services produced by the country.
- Economic Potential: When the gross domestic product (DGP) of the country doesn’t show any progress or improvement, it means the country’s economy is going through difficult times. This affects the decisions of central banks regarding interest rates and might potentially devaluate the currency on the foreign exchange.
- Global Trading Relationships: The better trading relationships established with partner countries, the more valuable the national currency will remain. This is because its value is derived from the demand for imported goods as well.
The Final Thought
In conclusion, the impact of national monetary policy on currency strength cannot be underestimated. Central banks play a crucial role in shaping the value of a country’s currency through their policy decisions, which are also driven by some objective circumstances such as economic performance and financial relationships with other countries.
By carefully managing interest rates, money supply, and exchange rates, central banks can influence the strength and stability of their currency.
So, by following these objective data and central implementation, you can make well-thought-out trading decisions and benefit from forex changes.