Pacific Exchange Rates Report for April 29 – May 3
By: Thea Kageleiry, The Quinnipiac University Economics Research Team
Pacific Currencies Index
Source: Yahoo Finance and own calculations. Exchange rates are inverted to be USD per local currency (i.e., an increase indicates a stronger domestic currency) and then indexed to be 100 at the start of the period.
Throughout the week of April 29th to May 3rd, exchange rates displayed relatively similar behaviors, all experiencing a significant upward spike followed by a sudden decrease towards the end of the week. The Japanese yen (maroon) showed the most volatility this week, with some extreme highs and lows. It started off with a large increase of about 1.6%, then fell by about 1%, increased again, and then fell by almost 3%. The South Korean won (red) and the New Zealand dollar (blue) experienced a more gradual increase at the beginning of the week, followed by a slight decrease until they both spiked up again before falling slightly lower than their starting points. The Australian dollar (green) was the only currency that began the week decreasing, falling by about 0.5% until it rose sharply along with the other currencies, and then descended by the end of the week.
Pacific Historical Trends
Source: Yahoo Finance and own calculations. Exchange rates are inverted to be USD per local currency (i.e., an increase indicates a stronger domestic currency. The center line is a rolling three-month average. The upper and lower boundaries are the average plus and average minus one standard deviation, respectively, for the same three-month period.
During the week of April 29th to May 3rd, the currencies fluctuated but generally followed the same path as the previous week. The Australian dollar (AUD) experienced a sharp increase after a period of decrease but then continued its downward trend. The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) saw a slight increase before falling again, although it is on an overall upward trajectory. The Japanese Yen (JPY) rose briefly but ended lower than its starting point for the week, despite showing significant increases over the past few months. The South Korean won (KRW) had a small uptick but continued to decline, although it is generally moving upward in trend.
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