Central banks
Supply is controlled by central banks, who can announce measures that will have a significant effect on their currency’s price. Quantitative easing, for instance, involves injecting more money into an economy, and can cause its currency’s price to drop.
Central banks also control the base interest rate for an economy.
If you purchase an asset in a currency that has a high interest rate, you may get higher returns. This can make investors flock to a country that has recently raised interest rates, in turn boosting its economy and driving up its currency.
However, higher interest rates can also make borrowing money harder. If money is more expensive to borrow, investing is harder, and currencies may weaken.
News reports
Commercial banks and other investors tend to want to put their capital into economies that have a strong outlook. So, if a positive piece of news hits the markets about a certain region, it will encourage investment and increase demand for that region’s currency.
Unless there is a parallel increase in supply for the currency, the disparity between supply and demand will cause its price to increase. Similarly, a piece of negative news can cause investment to decrease and lower a currency’s price. As a result, currencies tend to reflect the reported economic health of the country or region that they represent.
Take a look at our economic calendar to see what’s ahead, and pay particular attention to:
- Inflation figures
- GDP
- Production reports
- Retail sales
- Employment
Market sentiment
Market sentiment, which is often in reaction to the news, can also play a major role in driving currency prices. If traders believe that a currency is headed in a certain direction, they will trade accordingly and may convince others to follow suit, increasing or decreasing demand.
You can see sentiment from IG clients – as well as live prices and fundamentals – on our market data pages for each market.
