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Provision of Hedging Facilities: The Other Important of The Foreign Exchange
Provision of Hedging Facilities: The Other Important of The Foreign Exchange
Provision of Hedging Facilities: The Other Important of The Foreign Exchange
post
shipment credit.
Credit
facilities
are
available also for
importers. The Euro
dollar
markethasemergedasamajorinternationalcreditmarket.
Currency since former times has
been the
main driving force of
the global economic market,
● Provision of Hedging Facilities: The other important of the foreign exchange
and without a doubt is an essential component for a country. With the world becoming a
market is to provide hedging facilities. Hedging refers to covering of foreign trade
global market and countries trading with each other, there is a need for a system of
risks, and it provides a mechanism to
exporters and importers
to
guard themselves
exchange rate
between their currencies: this
system being
known as
Foreign Exchange or
againstlossesarisingfromfluctuationsinexchangerates.
CurrencyExchange.
The Foreign Exchange Market or
Forex
Market is
the market wherein participants can buy,
sell, exchange, and speculate on currencies. The forex market is made up of banks, MarketParticipants
commercial companies, central banks, investment management firms, hedge funds, retail
forex brokers and investors. The currency market is considered to be the largest
financial
Unlike a stock market, the foreign
exchange market is
divided into
levels of
access.
At
the
top is the interbank foreign exchange market, which is made
up of
the
largest commercial
marketwithover$5trilliondailytransactions.
banksandsecuritiesdealers.
History The levels of
access that make up the
foreign exchange market are determined by the
size
of the "line"
(the amount of
money with which they
are trading).
The top-tier interbank market
Up until World War I, currencies were pegged to precious metals, such as gold and
silver.
accounts for 51% of all transactions. From there, smaller banks, followed by large MNCs,
But the system collapsed and was replaced by the Bretton Woods agreement after the large hedge funds, and even some of the retail market makers. According to Galati and
second world war. This agreement resulted in the creation of three international Melvin, “Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds,
and other institutional investors
organizations to facilitate economic activity across the
globe. They
were: the International have played an increasingly important role
in
financial markets in
general, and in FX markets
Monetary Fund (IMF), General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and the in particular, since the early 2000s.” Central banks also participate in
the
foreign exchange
InternationalBankforReconstructionandDevelopment(IBRD). markettoaligncurrenciestotheireconomicneeds.
The new system also replaced gold
with the US
dollar as
a peg
for
international currencies.
TheUSgovernmentpromisedtobackupdollarsupplieswithequivalentgoldreserves.
But the Bretton Woods system became redundant in 1971, when US president Richard KindsofForeignExchangeMarkets
Nixon announced “temporary” suspension of
the
dollar’s convertibility into
gold. As of
today,
currencies are free to choose their own peg and their value is determined by supply and Foreign exchange markets are classified on the basis of whether the foreign exchange
demandininternationalmarkets. transactions are spot or forward accordingly, there are two kinds of foreign exchange
markets:
(i)SpotMarket (ii)ForwardMarket.
Characteristics SpotMarket
Theforeignexchangemarketisuniquebecauseofthefollowingcharacteristics: Spot market refers
to
the
market in
which the
receipts and payments are
made immediately.
● its
huge trading volume, representing the largest
asset
class
in
the
world leading Generally, a time
of
two business days is
permitted to
settle the
transaction. Spot market
is
tohighliquidity of daily nature and deals only in spot transactions of foreign exchange (not in future
● itsgeographicaldispersion transactions). The rate of exchange, which prevails in the spot market, is termed as spot
● itscontinuousoperation:24hoursadayexceptforweekends exchangerateorcurrentrateofexchange.
● thevarietyoffactorsthataffectexchangerates ForwardMarket
● thelowmarginsofrelativeprofitcomparedwithothermarketsoffixedincome Forward market refers to the market in which the
sale and purchase of
foreign currency is
● the use of leverage to enhance profit and loss margins and with respect to
settled on
a specified future
date
at a rate agreed upon today. The exchange rate quoted in
accountsize.
forward transactions is known as the forward exchange rate. Generally, most of the
Functions international transactions are signed on one date and completed on a later date. Forward
TheForexMarketperformsthreemainfunctions. exchangeratebecomesusefulforboththepartiesinvolvedinthetransaction.
● Transfer of
Purchasing Power: The Primary
function of
a foreign exchange market ForwardContractismadefortworeasons:
is the transfer of purchasing power from one country to another and from one (a) To minimize the risk of loss due to adverse changes in the exchange rate (through
currency to another. The international clearing function performed by foreign hedging)
exchange markets plays a very important role in facilitating international trade and (b)Tomakeprofit(throughspeculation).
capitalmovement
● Provision of Credit: The credit function performed by foreign exchange markets
also plays a very
important
role in the
growth
of
foreign
trade, for
international
trade
depends to a great extent on credit facilities. Exporters may get pre shipment and
CurrencyDepreciationVsCurrencyAppreciation Flexible Exchange Rate System, also known as Flexible Exchange Rate, is a regime
where the currency price of
a nation is
set
by the forex market based on supply and demand
Currency Depreciation refers to decrease in the value of domestic currency in terms of
relativetoothercurrencies.
foreign currency. It
makes the
domestic currency less
valuable and
more of
it
is
required to
● The value of currency is allowed to fluctuate according to changes in
demand and
buytheforeigncurrency.
supplyofforeignexchange.
EffectofDepreciationofDomesticCurrencyonExports:
● Thereisnoofficial(government)interventionintheforeignexchangemarket.
Depreciation of domestic currency means a fall
in the price
of
domestic currency (say, rupee)
● The exchange rate is determined by the market, i.e. through interactions of
in terms of a foreign currency (say, $). It means, with the same amount of dollars, more
thousands of
banks, firms and other
institutions seeking to
buy and sell currency for
goods can be
purchased from India,
i.e.
exports to the
USA will
increase as they will become
purposesofmakingtransactionsinforeignexchange.
relativelycheaper.
Managed Floating Rate System, also known as
Dirty Floating, refers to
a system in
which
Currency Appreciation refers to increase in the value of domestic currency in terms of
foreign exchange rate is determined by market forces and Central Bank influences the
foreign currency. The domestic currency becomes more valuable and less of
it
is
required to
exchangeratethroughinterventionin foreignexchangemarket.
buytheforeigncurrency.
● Itisahybridoffixedexchangerateandflexibleexchangeratesystem.
EffectofAppreciationofDomesticCurrencyonImports:
● In this
system Central Bank intervenes in
the foreign exchange market to restrict the
Appreciation of domestic currency means a rise in the price of domestic currency (say,
fluctuations in
exchange rate with
in
certain limits. The aim is
to
keep exchange rate
rupee) in
terms of
a foreign currency (say, $). Now, one
rupee can be
exchanged for more $,
closetodesiredtargetvalues.
i.e. with the same amount of money, more goods can be
purchased from the USA. It
leads to
● For this, Central Bank maintains reserves of foreign exchange to ensure that the
anincreaseinimportsfromtheUSAasAmericangoodswillbecomerelativelycheaper.
exchangeratestayswithinthetargetedvalue.
ForeignExchangeRates
DevaluationvsRevaluation
In
the
early days, the system of currency exchange was supported solely by the gold amount
held in the vault of a country. However, this system is now no longer appropriate due to Devaluation refers to a reduction in the value of domestic currency by the government.
inflation and hence, the value of
one’s currency nowadays is
determined through the market Devaluation is
said
to
occur
when the
exchange rate is increased by
the
government under
forces alone. In
order to
determine a currency's exchange rate, two main systems are used: theFixedExchangeRateSystem.
PeggedCurrencya ndF loatingCurrency. On the
other hand,
Revaluation refers to
an
increase in the
value
of
domestic
currency
by
thegovernment.
Fixed Exchange Rate System, also known as Pegged Exchange Rate, is a regime
wherein the value of the exchange rate for a currency is fixed by the government of a
DevaluationvsDepreciation
country. This system attempts to maintain the currency’s value, keeping it at
a “fixed” rate
Devaluation refers to a reduction in the price of domestic currency in terms of
all
foreign
andtoavoidexchangeratefluctuations.
currencyunderFixedExchangeRateregime.Ittakesplaceduetog overnment.
● The basic purpose of adopting the
system is
to ensure stability
in
foreign trade and
Depreciation refers to fall in market price of domestic currency in terms of a foreign
capitalmovements.
currency under Flexible Exchange Rate regime. It takes place due to market forces of
● To achieve stability, government undertakes to buy foreign currency exchange when
demandandsupply.
the exchange rate becomes weaker and sell foreign currency when the rate of
exchangegetsstronger.
● For this, government has to
maintain large
reserves of
foreign currencies to maintain DemandForForeignExchange
theexchangerateatthelevelfixedbyit. The demand (or
outflow)
of
foreign exchange
comes from those
people who need it
to
make
● Under this system, each country keeps value of its country fixed in terms of some payment in foreign currency. It is demanded by the domestic residents for the following
ExternalStandard. reasons:
● This External Standard can be gold, silver, other precious metals and another 1.
Imports of
Goods and Services: Foreign Exchange is
demanded to
make the
payment
country’scurrencyorevensomeinternationallyagreedunitofaccount. forimportsofgoodsandservices.
● When the value of domestic currency is tied to the value of another currency, it is 2.T ourism:Foreignexchangeisneededtomeetexpenditureincurredinforeigntours.
knownasP egging. 3. Unilateral Transfers sent abroad: Foreign exchange is required for making unilateral
● When the value of currency is fixed in terms of some other currency or
in terms of
transferslikesendinggiftstoothercountries.
gold,itisknownas‘ParityValue’ofcurrency. 4. Purchase of Assets in Foreign Countries: It is demanded to make payment for
purchaseofassets,likeland,shares,bonds,etc.intheforeigncountries.
5.
Speculation: Demand for
foreign
exchange
arises
when
people
want
to
make
gains
-from
appreciationofthecurrency. SupplyCurveofForeignExchange
Supply curve
of
foreign exchange slope
upwards due to
positive relationship between supply
Reasonsfor‘RiseinDemand’forForeignCurrency forforeignexchangeandforeignexchangerate.
Thedemandforforeigncurrencyrisesinthefollowingsituations:
1. When the price of a foreign currency falls, imports from that foreign country become
cheaper.So,importsincreaseandhence,thedemandforforeigncurrencyrises. In
Fig.
11.2, supply of
foreign exchange (US Dollar)
and rate
of
foreign
2.
When a foreign currency becomes cheaper in
terms of the
domestic currency, it
promotes exchange have been shown on
the
X-axis
and
Y-axis
respectively. The
tourismtothatcountry.Asaresult,demandforforeigncurrencyrises. positively sloped supply curve (SS) shows that supply of foreign
3.
When the price
of
a foreign currency
falls,
its
demand rises
as more people want to
make
exchange rises from OQ1 to OQ2 when the exchange rate rises from
gainsfromspeculativeactivities. OR1 toOR2.
DemandCurveofForeignExchange
Demand curve of foreign exchange slope downwards due to the inverse relationship DeterminationOfExchangeRate
betweendemandforforeignexchangeandforeignexchangerate.
ChangesInExchangeRate
The equilibrium exchange rate will be disturbed if some changes occur in the demand or
supplyofforeignexchange.
In Fig. 11.1, demand for foreign exchange (US dollar) and
rate
of
ChangeinDemand
foreign exchange are
shown on
the X-
axis
and Y-axis respectively.
Changeindemandmaybeeitheran‘IncreaseinDemand’or‘DecreaseinDemand’.
The negatively sloped demand curve (DD) shows that more foreign
(i)
Increase in Demand: An increase in
demand for foreign exchange will
shift
the
demand
exchange (OQ1) is demanded at a low rate of exchange (OR1),
curve towards right from DD
to D1D1. In Fig.
11.4, there is an excess demand of
QQ1 at
the
whereas, demand for US dollars falls to OQ2 when the exchange
original exchange rate of
OR. As a result, the
exchange rate rises to
OR1 It
shows that
per
raterisestoOR2.
unit price of US Dollar (in terms of rupees) has increased, i.e. domestic currency has
depreciated.
(ii)
Decrease in Demand: A decrease in
demand will shift the demand curve towards the
left
(Fig. 11.4) from DD to
D2D2. It
leads to
deficit demand of
QQ2 at
the original exchange rate
SupplyOfForeignExchange
of
OR. As
a result, the exchange rate will
fall
until
it
reaches OR2. Now, per unit price of
US
The supply
(inflow) of
foreign exchange comes from
those people who
receive
it
due
to
the
Dollar (in terms of rupees) has decreased, i.e. domestic currency has appreciated.
followingreasons.
1.
Exports of
Goods and Services: Supply of
foreign exchange comes through exports of
goodsandservices.
2.
Foreign Investment: The amount, which foreigners invest in
the home country, increases
thesupplyofforeignexchange.
3.
Remittances (Unilateral transfers) from
abroad: Supply of
foreign
exchange increases
intheformofgiftsandotherremittancesfromabroad.
4.
Speculation: Supply of
foreign exchange comes from those who want
to
speculate on the
valueofforeignexchange.
Reasonsfor‘RiseinSupply’ofForeignCurrency
ChangeinSupply
Thesupplyofforeigncurrencyrisesinthefollowingsituations:
Changeinsupplymaybeeitheran‘IncreaseinSupply’or‘DecreaseinSupply’.
1.
When
the
price
of
a foreign
currency rises,
domestic goods become
relatively
cheaper. It
(i)
Increase in
Supply: If
the
supply of
foreign exchange increases, it
will
lead
to
a rightward
induces
the foreign countries to
increase their
imports
from the
domestic country.
As a result,
shift in the supply curve from SS to S1S1 as shown in Fig. 11.5. Now, at the original
supplyofforeigncurrencyrises.
exchange rate
of
OR,
there is
an
excess supply , of
QQ1 As
a result, the new exchange rate
2.
When the price
of
a foreign currency rises,
supply
of
foreign currency
rises as
people want
moves down to OR1. This implies that per
unit
price of
US
Dollar (in
terms of
rupees) has
tomakegainsfromspeculativeactivities.
reduced. A decrease in
the price
of
foreign currency, in
terms
of
domestic currency, means anticipated proceeds in the forward market and make profits without risk through this
thatthedomesticcurrencyhasappreciated. process.
(ii) Decrease in Supply: A decrease in supply will shift the supply curve towards the left
(Fig. 11.5)
from SS
to
S2S2. It
leads to
deficit supply
of QQ2 at
the
original
exchange rate of
CurrencyRates
OR. This
will
increase the exchange rate
till
it
reaches OR2. So,
per
unit
price
of
US
Dollar
(in terms of rupees) has increased and, thus, the domestic currency has depreciated.
EUROvsIndianRupee
1EUR 79.31INR
EURO IndianRupee
1EUR=79.31INR 1INR=0.0126EUR
UnitedStatesDollarvsIndianRupee
ForexMarket,India:ACaseStudy 1USD 71.45INR
UnitedStatesDollar IndianRupee
During 2003-04 the average monthly turnover in the Indian foreign exchange market touched
about 175 billion US dollars. Compare this with the monthly trading volume of about 120 1USD=71.45INR 1INR=0.0139USD
billion US dollars for all cash, derivatives and debt instruments put together in the country,
and the sheer size of
the foreign exchange market becomes evident. Since then, the foreign
exchange market activity has more than doubled with the average monthly turnover reaching SwissFrancvsIndianRupee
359 billion USD in 2005-2006, over ten times the daily turnover of the Bombay Stock
Exchange. As in the rest of
the world, in India too, foreign exchange constitutes the largest 1SFr 72.92INR
financialmarketbyfar.
SwissFranc IndianRupee
Liberalization has radically changed India’s foreign exchange sector. Indeed the liberalization
process itself was sparked by a severe Balance of Payments and foreign exchange crisis. 1SFr=72.92INR 1INR=0.0137SFr
Since 1991, the rigid, four-decade old, fixed exchange rate system replete with severe
import and foreign exchange controls and a thriving black market is being replaced with a
less regulated, “market driven” arrangement. While the rupee is still far from being “fully
floating”, the nature of intervention and range of independence tolerated have both
undergone significant changes. With an overabundance of foreign exchange reserves, Conclusion
imports are no longer viewed with fear and skepticism. The Reserve Bank of India and its
The foreign exchange market is the world's largest financial market, and it is critical for
allies now intervene occasionally in the foreign exchange markets not always to support the
global commerce. Private Citizens and business entities
enter
foreign exchange markets to
rupee but often to avoid an appreciation in its value. Full convertibility of the rupee is clearly
make international payments and explore investment opportunities. The foreign exchange
visible on the horizon. The effects of this development s are palpable in the explosive growth
market does not refer to one centrally organized financial exchange. Instead, it
refers to
a
intheforeignexchangemarketinIndia.
vast network of participants that trade currencies with the help of information technology.
Foreign exchange rates shift with
the supply and demand dynamics of
a particular currency.
FeaturesOfTheForwardPremiumOnTheIndianRupee
Low money supplies along with
high demand for
the
currency support high exchange rates.
Treasury officials sell government securities to the public for cash to reduce the money
The Indian rupee has had an active forward market for some time now. The forward
supply available in circulation. Meanwhile, economic growth and stability improve currency
premium or discount on the rupee (vis-à-vis the US dollar, for instance) reflects the market’s
demand. Consumers may exploit high exchange rates to buy relatively cheap overseas
beliefs about future changes in its value. The strength of the relationship of this forward
goods and investments. Alternatively, businesses benefit from weak domestic exchange
premium with the interest rate differential between India and the US – the Covered Interest
rates that add value to overseas profits when they are converted back into the home
Parity (CIP) condition – gives us a measure of India’s integration with global markets. The
currency.
CIP is
a no-arbitrage relationship that ensures that one cannot borrow in
a country, convert
to and lend in another currency, insure the returns in the original currency by selling his