Currency As A Commodity Of Trade
The currency exchange rates are determined by the market. The currency is free-floating and as a result its rate is not fixed as was done before. The rates in the market are determined by the extent of demand and supply of the currency in the market. As a result, its rates constantly changed and fluctuated. Earlier the currency rate was based on the fixed exchange rate when a currency was fixed with reference to another by the government who could change or devalue this rate as and when needed. Between World War II and 1966 the Western European countries fixed the exchange rates to the dollar. The market based exchange was adopted later.
The exchange rate of a currency with another changes when the value of one of the currencies changes. The value of the currency increases when its demands increase more than the supply. The value of the currency falls with the decline in the demand and is lower than the supply. There could be many reasons why the demand for a particular currency increases. The increase in the demand from transactions could be a cause. There could also be an increase in demand from the speculative market for the currency. The increased employment levels, the increased business activity of a country and the gross domestic product (GDP) could increase the transaction demand. The spending increases with increase in employment fuelling an increased demand for currency.
Currency worth about $4 trillion dollars is traded every day. It is one of the largest markets in the world. There are a number of guides in the market to teach about foreign exchange market to persons who wish to invest in the market. Some of these are The Forex Video Course, Instant Forex Profit, The Magical Forex Trading, The Professional Forex Training, The Forex Assassin, The Forex Strategy Workbook and Auto Cash System.
The change in the demand for currency as a result of business activity is adjusted by the central banks by adjusting the available money supply. It is difficult for the central banks to adjust to the demand for money from speculation. They try to do this by adjusting the interest rates. With higher interest rates, there is an increase in the purchase of that currency. The demand for the currency increases. Currency speculation is considered to undermine the economy of a country as large currency speculators can unduly influence the exchange rates.