Pacific Exchange Rates Report for May 12th – 16th

By: Mariam Saad, The Quinnipiac University Global Economics Research Team

Pacific Currencies Index

Source: Eurostat 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.

For the week of May 12th – May 16th, there were similar performances among the Australian Dollar (green) and the New Zealand Dollar (blue), as well as similarity among the South Korean Won (red) and the Japanese Yen (maroon). While all the currencies rose in the beginning of the week, the Won and the Yen increased the most, with the Yen increasing by up to 2.0%. This was followed by a quick decrease, notably by the New Zealand Dollar and the Australian Dollar, with the AUD decreasing by up to 1.0%. By the end of the week, all the currencies were slightly weaker than the USD compared to the beginning of the week, except for the Japanese Yen, which was slightly stronger.

Pacific Historical Trends

Source: Eurostat 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 May 12th – May 16th, the Pacific currencies saw a dramatic change from the past 3 months. In April, each currency saw a rise and fall in their respective exchange rates. In May, the Australian Dollar (AUD) and the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) have witnessed similar changes, with a slight decrease and quick increase. The Japanese Yen (JPY) and the South Korean Won (KRW) have seen much more movement, with the Yen continuing its steady increase and the Won significantly decreasing, then increasing. The Yen has the best performance following the recent weakening of all the Pacific currencies in the month of April.