Pacific Exchange Rates Report for January 29 – February 2

By: Khadija Farooqi, 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. 

During the week of January 29th to February 2nd, the currencies within the Pacific region followed comparable trajectories at the beginning of the week but diverged against the USD as the week concluded. An initial descent can be observed in the currencies, followed by a varied ascent until January 30th, after which distinctive patterns emerged for each currency. Starting with the most substantial decline in the group, the Australian dollar (green) exhibited a strong drop of 0.8% but concluded the week with a recovery of 0.2%. In contrast, the South Korean won (red), as the leading currency of the week, experienced a notable upturn of 0.8%, moderating towards the end of the week with a decline and resurgence. Lastly, the New Zealand dollar (blue) and the Japanese yen (maroon) initially mirrored each other's behavior until midweek. Thereafter, they diverged, with a 0.3% reduction for the NZD and a 0.6% upturn for the JPY. Fortunately, the NZD was able to offset the decline with a steep 0.6% increase 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. 

Throughout the week spanning January 29th to February 2nd, the currencies can be seen exhibiting similar minor fluctuations. Both the Australian dollar (AUD) and New Zealand Dollar (NZD) are shown experiencing subtle ups and downs along the four-month average threshold. The South Korean won (KRW) is increasing at a decreasing rate, finally resurfacing above the lower bound. Last but not least, the Japanese yen (JPY) follows a gradual ascent above the average, only to swiftly decline directly afterward.