Pacific Exchange Rates Report for October 30 – November 3

By: The Quinnipiac University Economics Research Team, Dan Hogan

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 October 30th – November 3rd, there was significant variation in the performances of the currencies against the USD. The Australian dollar (green) posted gains of nearly 1.5%, the highest one-week gain it has seen in months. After some fluctuations in the first half of the week, the South Korean won (red) and the New Zealand dollar (blue) both rallied to finished the week up about 1.3% on the USD. The Japanese yen (maroon) did not see such success, falling from a mid-week high, and finishing just below where it started on October 27th, down 0.1% on 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.

For the week of October 30th – November 3rd, the were shifts among the currency trends. The Australian dollar (AUD) climbed back up to the lower bound off of the strong performance this past week. Likewise, the New Zealand dollar (NZD) surpassed its three-month average mark for the first time in nearly a month, and remains the only currency to do so. The South Korean won (KRW) remains just below the center line after strengthening throughout the past week. To close out the Pacific group, the Japanese yen (JPY) dipped just below its lower bound, but continues the month-long trend of nearly no movement. With the exception of the yen, which has been uniquely stable, the past week produced plenty of movement for the Pacific currencies.

Additional Reading:

NZD / USD: This link looks at the movement of the NZD against the USD over the past week, highlighting that data, such as October inflation reports, will continue to play a role in trading.

AUD / USD: FXStreet dives into the upcoming meeting Australia’s Central Bank, as their decision on interest rates will play a larger role than usual after the Fed’s rather dovish meeting.