Trans-Atlantic Exchange Rate Report for January 22 – January 26

By: Ryan Slattery, The Quinnipiac University Economics Research Team 

Trans-Atlantic 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.  

From January 19th to January 25th, Trans-Atlantic currencies exhibited varying performances against the US dollar. At the beginning of the week, the Canadian dollar (red) strengthened by 0.4%, only to relinquish those gains the following day. It then experienced another uptick of 0.2%, but subsequently lost those gains and more, concluding the week with a decline of approximately 0.3%. The Swiss franc (maroon) fell gradually by 0.2% throughout the week but surged by about 0.8% in a single day, resulting in a weekly increase of roughly 0.6%. The Euro (blue) initiated the week with a 0.1% rise, declined by 0.3% over the week, and then saw a nearly 0.3% increase in a single day, ultimately finishing the week around where it began. The British pound (green) experienced two instances of falls and rises during the week, with each fall not exceeding 0.1%. Each decline was offset by a subsequent rise the following day. It concluded the week marginally ahead of its starting point, with a gain of 0.07%.

Trans-Atlantic 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. 

The Canadian dollar (CAD) weakened this week, bringing its value to very near its three-month rolling average. The Swiss franc (CHF), with its gain at the end of the week, has moved somewhat towards its upper bound, but its value is still significantly lower than the highs it reached last month. The euro (EUR) hovers near its average, fallen from the heights it reached at the start of the New Year. The British pound (GBP) hovers near its upper bound, retaining much of the value it gained over the past three months.