Answers to End of Chapter 4 Questions

1. Percentage Depreciation. Assume the spot rate of the British pound is $1.73. The expected
spot rate one year from now is assumed to be $1.66. What percentage depreciation does this
reflect?
ANSWER: ($1.66 $1.73)/$1.73 = 4.05%
Expected depreciation of 4.05% percent
2. Inflation Effects on Exchange Rates. Assume that the U.S. inflation rate becomes high
relative to Canadian inflation. Other things being equal, how should this affect the (a) U.S.
demand for Canadian dollars, (b) supply of Canadian dollars for sale, and (c) equilibrium
value of the Canadian dollar?
ANSWER: Demand for Canadian dollars should increase, supply of Canadian dollars for
sale should decrease, and the Canadian dollars value should increase.
3. Interest Rate Effects on Exchange Rates. Assume U.S. interest rates fall relative to British
interest rates. Other things being equal, how should this affect the (a) U.S. demand for
British pounds, (b) supply of pounds for sale, and (c) equilibrium value of the pound?
ANSWER: Demand for pounds should increase, supply of pounds for sale should decrease,
and the pounds value should increase.
4. Income Effects on Exchange Rates. Assume that the U.S. income level rises at a much
higher rate than does the Canadian income level. Other things being equal, how should this
affect the (a) U.S. demand for Canadian dollars, (b) supply of Canadian dollars for sale, and
(c) equilibrium value of the Canadian dollar?
ANSWER: Assuming no effect on U.S. interest rates, demand for dollars should increase,
supply of dollars for sale may not be affected, and the dollars value should increase.
5. Trade Restriction Effects on Exchange Rates. Assume that the Japanese government
relaxes its controls on imports by Japanese companies. Other things being equal, how should
this affect the (a) U.S. demand for Japanese yen, (b) supply of yen for sale, and (c)
equilibrium value of the yen?
ANSWER: Demand for yen should not be affected, supply of yen for sale should increase,
and the value of yen should decrease.
6. Effects of Real Interest Rates. What is the expected relationship between the relative real
interest rates of two countries and the exchange rate of their currencies?
ANSWER: The higher the real interest rate of a country relative to another country, the
stronger will be its home currency, other things equal.
7. Speculative Effects on Exchange Rates. Explain why a public forecast by a respected
economist about future interest rates could affect the value of the dollar today. Why do some
forecasts by well-respected economists have no impact on todays value of the dollar?

ANSWER: Interest rate movements affect exchange rates. Speculators can use anticipated
interest rate movements to forecast exchange rate movements. They may decide to purchase
securities in particular countries because of their expectations about currency movements,
since their yield will be affected by changes in a currencys value. These purchases of securities require an exchange of currencies, which can immediately affect the equilibrium value
of exchange rates.
If a forecast of interest rates by a respected economist was already anticipated by market
participants or is not different from investors original expectations, an announced forecast
does not provide new information. Thus, there would be no reaction by investors to such an
announcement, and exchange rates would not be affected.
8. Factors Affecting Exchange Rates. What factors affect the future movements in the value of
the euro against the dollar?
ANSWER: The euros value could change because of the balance of trade, which reflects
more U.S. demand for European goods than the European demand for U.S. goods. The capital
flows between the U.S. and Europe will also affect the U.S. demand for euros and the supply
of euros for sale (to be exchanged for dollars).
9. Interaction of Exchange Rates. Assume that there are substantial capital flows among
Canada, the U.S., and Japan. If interest rates in Canada decline to a level below the U.S.
interest rate, and inflationary expectations remain unchanged, how could this affect the value
of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar? How might this decline in Canadas interest
rates possibly affect the value of the Canadian dollar against the Japanese yen?
ANSWER: If interest rates in Canada decline, there may be an increase in capital flows from
Canada to the U.S. In addition, U.S. investors may attempt to capitalize on higher U.S.
interest rates, while U.S. investors reduce their investments in Canadas securities. This
places downward pressure on the Canadian dollars value.
Japanese investors that previously invested in Canada may shift to the U.S. Thus, the
reduced flow of funds from Japan would place downward pressure on the Canadian dollar
against the Japanese yen.
10. Trade Deficit Effects on Exchange Rates. Every month, the U.S. trade deficit figures are
announced. Foreign exchange traders often react to this announcement and even attempt to
forecast the figures before they are announced.
a. Why do you think the trade deficit announcement sometimes has such an impact on
foreign exchange trading?
ANSWER: The trade deficit announcement may provide a reasonable forecast of future trade
deficits and therefore has implications about supply and demand conditions in the foreign
exchange market. For example, if the trade deficit was larger than anticipated, and is
expected to continue, this implies that the U.S. demand for foreign currencies may be larger
than initially anticipated. Thus, the dollar would be expected to weaken. Some speculators
may take a position in foreign currencies immediately and could cause an immediate decline
in the dollar.

b. In some periods, foreign exchange traders do not respond to a trade deficit

announcement, even when the announced deficit is very large. Offer an explanation for
such a lack of response.
ANSWER: If the market correctly anticipated the trade deficit figure, then any news
contained in the announcement has already been accounted for in the market. The market
should only respond to an announcement about the trade deficit if the announcement contains
new information.
11. Comovements of Exchange Rates. Explain why the value of the British pound against the
dollar will not always move in tandem with the value of the euro against the dollar.
ANSWER: The euros value changes in response to the flow of funds between the U.S. and
the countries using the euro or their currency. The pounds value changes in response to the
flow of funds between the U.S. and the U.K. [Answer is based on intuition, is not directly
from the text.]
12. Factors Affecting Exchange Rates. In the 1990s, Russia was attempting to import more
goods but had little to offer other countries in terms of potential exports. In addition, Russias
inflation rate was high. Explain the type of pressure that these factors placed on the Russian
currency.
ANSWER: The large amount of Russian imports and lack of Russian exports placed
downward pressure on the Russian currency. The high inflation rate in Russia also placed
downward pressure on the Russian currency.
13. National Income Effects. Analysts commonly attribute the appreciation of a currency to
expectations that economic conditions will strengthen. Yet, this chapter suggests that when
other factors are held constant, increased national income could increase imports and cause
the local currency to weaken. In reality, other factors are not constant. What other factor is
likely to be affected by increased economic growth and could place upward pressure on the
value of the local currency?
ANSWER: Interest rates tend to rise in response to a stronger economy, and higher interest
rates can place upward pressure on the local currency (as long as there is not offsetting
pressure by higher expected inflation).
14. Factors Affecting Exchange Rates. If the Asian countries experience a decline in economic
growth (and experience a decline in inflation and interest rates as a result), how will their
currency values (relative to the U.S. dollar) be affected?
ANSWER: A relative decline in Asian economic growth will reduce Asian demand for U.S.
products, which places upward pressure on Asian currencies. However, given the change in
interest rates, Asian corporations with excess cash may now invest in the U.S. or other
countries, thereby increasing the demand for U.S. dollars. Thus, a decline in Asian interest
rates will place downward pressure on the value of the Asian currencies. The overall impact
depends on the magnitude of the forces just described.

15. Impact of Crises. Why do you think most crises in countries (such as the Asian crisis) cause
the local currency to weaken abruptly? Is it because of trade or capital flows?
ANSWER: Capital flows have a larger influence. In general, crises tend to cause investors to
expect that there will be less investment in the country in the future and also cause concern
that any existing investments will generate poor returns (because of defaults on loans or
reduced valuations of stocks). Thus, as investors liquidate their investments and convert the
local currency into other currencies to invest elsewhere, downward pressure is placed on the
local currency.
16. Impact of September 11. The terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001 were
expected to weaken U.S. economic conditions, and reduce U.S. interest rates. How do you
think the weaker U.S. economic conditions would affect trade flows? How would this have
affected the value of the dollar (holding other factors constant)? How do you think the lower
U.S. interest rates would have affected the value of the U.S. dollar (holding other factors
constant)?
ANSWER: The weak U.S. economy would result in a reduced demand for foreign products,
which results in a decline in the demand for foreign currencies, and therefore places
downward pressure on currencies relative to the dollar (upward pressure on the dollars
value). The lower U.S. interest rates should reduce the capital flows to the U.S., which place
downward pressure on the value of the dollar.

Advanced Questions
17. Measuring Effects on Exchange Rates. Tarheel Co. plans to determine how changes in U.S.
and Mexican real interest rates will affect the value of the U.S. dollar. (See Appendix C.)
a. Describe a regression model that could be used to achieve this purpose. Also explain the
expected sign of the regression coefficient.
ANSWER: Various models are possible. One model would be:
% Change = a0 + a1 (rU.S. rM) + u
in peso
Where
rU.S.

real interest rate in the U.S.

rM

real interest rate in Mexico

a0

intercept

a1

regression coefficient measuring the relationship between the real interest

rate differential and the percentage change in the pesos value

error term

Based on the model above, the regression coefficient is expected to have a negative sign. A
relatively high real interest rate differential would likely cause a weaker peso value, other
things being equal. An appropriate model would also include other independent variables that
may influence the percentage change in the pesos value.
b. If Tarheel Co. thinks that the existence of a quota in particular historical periods may
have affected exchange rates, how might this be accounted for in the regression model?
ANSWER: A dummy variable could be included in the model, assigned a value of one for
periods when a quota existed and a value of zero when it did not exist. This answer requires
some creative thinking, as it is not drawn directly from the text.
18. Factors Affecting Exchange Rates. Mexico tends to have much higher inflation than the
United States and also much higher interest rates than the United States. Inflation and
interest rates are much more volatile in Mexico than in industrialized countries. The value of
the Mexican peso is typically more volatile than the currencies of industrialized countries
from a U.S. perspective; it has typically depreciated from one year to the next, but the degree
of depreciation has varied substantially. The bid/ask spread tends to be wider for the peso
than for currencies of industrialized countries.
a. Identify the most obvious economic reason for the persistent depreciation of the peso.
ANSWER: The high inflation in Mexico places continual downward pressure on the value of
the peso.
b. High interest rates are commonly expected to strengthen a countrys currency because
they can encourage foreign investment in securities in that country, which results in the
exchange of other currencies for that currency. Yet, the pesos value has declined against
the dollar over most years even though Mexican interest rates are typically much higher
than U.S. interest rates. Thus, it appears that the high Mexican interest rates do not
attract substantial U.S. investment in Mexicos securities. Why do you think U.S.
investors do not try to capitalize on the high interest rates in Mexico?
ANSWER: The high interest rates in Mexico result from expectations of high inflation. That
is, the real interest rate in Mexico may not be any higher than the U.S. real interest rate.
Given the high inflationary expectations, U.S. investors recognize the potential weakness of
the peso, which could more than offset the high interest rate (when they convert the pesos
back to dollars at the end of the investment period). Therefore, the high Mexican interest
rates do not encourage U.S. investment in Mexican securities, and do not help to strengthen
the value of the peso.
c. Why do you think the bid/ask spread is higher for pesos than for currencies of
industrialized countries? How does this affect a U.S. firm that does substantial business
in Mexico?
ANSWER: The bid/ask spread is wider because the banks that provide foreign exchange
services are subject to more risk when they maintain currencies such as the peso that could
decline abruptly at any time. A wider bid/ask spread adversely affects the U.S. firm that does
business in Mexico because it increases the transactions costs associated with conversion of
dollars to pesos, or pesos to dollars.

19. Aggregate Effects on Exchange Rates. Assume that the United States invests heavily in
government and corporate securities of Country K. In addition, residents of Country K invest
heavily in the United States. Approximately $10 billion worth of investment transactions occur
between these two countries each year. The total dollar value of trade transactions per year is
about $8 million. This information is expected to also hold in the future.
Because your firm exports goods to Country K, your job as international cash manager
requires you to forecast the value of Country Ks currency (the krank) with respect to the
dollar. Explain how each of the following conditions will affect the value of the krank,
holding other things equal. Then, aggregate all of these impacts to develop an overall
forecast of the kranks movement against the dollar.
a. U.S. inflation has suddenly increased substantially, while Country Ks inflation remains
low.
ANSWER: Increased U.S. demand for the krank. Decreased supply of kranks for sale.
Upward pressure in the kranks value.
b. U.S. interest rates have increased substantially, while Country Ks interest rates remain
low. Investors of both countries are attracted to high interest rates.
ANSWER: Decreased U.S. demand for the krank. Increased supply of kranks for sale.
Downward pressure on the kranks value.
c. The U.S. income level increased substantially, while Country Ks income level has
remained unchanged.
ANSWER: Increased U.S. demand for the krank. Upward pressure on the kranks value.
d. The U.S. is expected to impose a small tariff on goods imported from Country K.
ANSWER: The tariff will cause a decrease in the United States desire for Country Ks
goods, and will therefore reduce the demand for kranks for sale. Downward pressure on the
kranks value.
e. Combine all expected impacts to develop an overall forecast.
ANSWER: Two of the scenarios described above place upward pressure on the value of the
krank. However, these scenarios are related to trade, and trade flows are relatively minor
between the U.S. and Country K. The interest rate scenario places downward pressure on the
kranks value. Since the interest rates affect capital flows and capital flows dominate trade
flows between the U.S. and Country K, the interest rate scenario should overwhelm all other
scenarios. Thus, when considering the importance of implications of all scenarios, the krank
is expected to depreciate.

20. Speculation. Blue Demon Bank expects that the Mexican peso will depreciate against the
dollar from its spot rate of $.15 to $.14 in 10 days. The following interbank lending and
borrowing rates exist:
U.S. dollar
Mexican peso

Lending Rate
8.0%
8.5%

Borrowing Rate
8.3%
8.7%

Assume that Blue Demon Bank has a borrowing capacity of either $10 million or 70 million
peos in the interbank market, depending on which currency it wants to borrow.
a. How could Blue Demon Bank attempt to capitalize on its expectations without using
deposited funds? Estimate the profits that could be generated from this strategy.
ANSWER: Blue Demon Bank can capitalize on its expectations about pesos (MXP) as
follows:
1. Borrow MXP70 million
2. Convert the MXP70 million to dollars:
MXP70,000,000 $.15 = $10,500,000
3. Lend the dollars through the interbank market at 8.0% annualized over a 10-day period.
The amount accumulated in 10 days is:
$10,500,000 [1 + (8% 10/360)] = $10,500,000 [1.002222] = $10,523,333
4. Repay the peso loan. The repayment amount on the peso loan is:
MXP70,000,000 [1 + (8.7% 10/360)] = 70,000,000 [1.002417]=MXP70,169,167
5. Based on the expected spot rate of $.14, the amount of dollars needed to repay the peso
loan is:
MXP70,169,167 $.14 = $9,823,683
6. After repaying the loan, Blue Demon Bank will have a speculative profit (if its forecasted
exchange rate is accurate) of:
$10,523,333 $9,823,683 = $699,650
b. Assume all the preceding information with this exception: Blue Demon Bank expects the
peso to appreciate from its present spot rate of $.15 to $.17 in 30 days. How could it
attempt to capitalize on its expectations without using deposited funds? Estimate the
profits that could be generated from this strategy.

ANSWER: Blue Demon Bank can capitalize on its expectations as follows:

1. Borrow $10 million
2. Convert the $10 million to pesos (MXP):
$10,000,000/$.15 = MXP66,666,667
3. Lend the pesos through the interbank market at 8.5% annualized over a 30-day
period. The amount accumulated in 30 days is:
MXP66,666,667 [1 + (8.5% 30/360)] = 66,666,667 [1.007083] = MXP67,138,889
4. Repay the dollar loan. The repayment amount on the dollar loan is:
$10,000,000 [1 + (8.3% 30/360)] = $10,000,000 [1.006917] = $10,069,170
5. Convert the pesos to dollars to repay the loan. The amount of dollars to be received in 30
days (based on the expected spot rate of $.17) is:
MXP67,138,889 $.17 = $11,413,611
6. The profits are determined by estimating the dollars available after repaying the loan:
$11,413,611 $10,069,170 = $1,344,441
21. Speculation. Diamond Bank expects that the Singapore dollar will depreciate against the
dollar from its spot rate of $.43 to $.42 in 60 days. The following interbank lending and
borrowing rates exist:
Lending Rate
U.S. dollar
Singapore dollar

7.0%
22.0%

Borrowing Rate
7.2%
24.0%

Diamond Bank considers borrowing 10 million Singapore dollars in the interbank market a nd
investing the funds in dollars for 60 days. Estimate the profits (or losses) that could be earned
from this strategy. Should Diamond Bank pursue this strategy?
ANSWER:
Borrow S$10,000,000 and convert to U.S. $:
S$10,000,000 $.43 = $4,300,000
Invest funds for 60 days. The rate earned in the U.S. for 60 days is:
7% (60/360) = 1.17%
Total amount accumulated in 60 days:
$4,300,000 (1 + .0117) = $4,350,310

Convert U.S. $ back to S$ in 60 days:

$4,350,310/$.42 = S$10,357,881
The rate to be paid on loan is:
.24 (60/360) = .04
Amount owed on S$ loan is:
S$10,000,000 (1 + .04) = S$10,400,000
This strategy results in a loss:
S$10,357,881 S$10,400,000 = S$42,119
Diamond Bank should not pursue this strategy.