The currency exchange rates are market determined. There are fluctuations in exchange rates as the currency is free-floating and not fixed as was earlier. The rates are determined by the demand and supply in the currency market. Its rates will constantly vary and keep changing. The fixed exchange rates are when a currency is fixed to a certain rate with respect to another with the provision that the rates can be devalued. For instance, the Western European countries had fixed the exchange rates to the dollar since World War II to 1966. But later they switched over to market based exchange rate.
Whenever there is a change in the value of one currency, the exchange rate with another currency will change. When the demand for a currency increases and is more than the supply, it becomes more valuable. But when the demand is lower than the supply, the value of the currency declines. The increase in demand for a currency can be due to many reasons. There could be an increase in the transaction demand for the currency. Or there could be an increase in the speculative demand for the currency. The transaction demand is related to the level of business activity of the country, the employment levels and the gross domestic product (GDP). When more people are employed, the more will be the spending on goods and services.
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The money supply available in the market is adjusted when there is a change in the market demand for that currency with changes in the demand from business activities. However, the central banks will not be able to adjust to the demands arising from speculation in the market. The adjustment is made in the interest rates. A higher interest rate will increase the purchase of the currency leading to increased value. This in turn increases the demand for that currency. It is considered that currency speculation is not good for the country’s economy as large speculators could influence the exchange rate through speculation which can impact the business transactions of the country.
