Many of the items we buy in the United States are produced in other countries. As such, the price we pay depends on the exchange rate between the two countries. Suppose you want to buy something made in Mexico. What features of exchange rates do we need to understand? Will the currency appreciate or depreciate? Use the FRED Economic Data, provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, to explore these questions. Go to Federal Reserve Economic Data to access the full dataset.
The source of the data is FRED Economic Data provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and they are available Federal Reserve Economic Data .
To access the data:
1. Go to Federal Reserve Economic Data and enter “Monthly exchange rate” into the search field.
2. Select the boxes next to Mexico, Brazil, and the U.K.
3. Select “Add to graph.”
4. Select the “10Y” option above the graph. The graph will change to show the last 10 years’ worth of monthly data.
a. Fill in the table based on the data. From August 2008 to March 2009, how did the value of the U.S. dollar change relative to the other currencies? (Hint: Note that the U.S.–U.K. exchange rate in the data is given as US/UK)
Country (currency) | August 2008 (per $) | March 2009 (per $) | Percentage Change (round to nearest %) | Appreciated or Depreciated? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brazil (real) | BTdwrVgzHOfVSj6syUnsX69YsJdFcV3oVLok1NGNHmr7MPWJZSJDZO2OYx9agKoQvAhPAJd20PYp4qKYu+FRmH6hKG9nfryquhRZpL4slmp0SJdkqGOrTbT57FY= | Ula0DdJOLqIF7zT25Ci9ZhfjGnnzSxQjBK7ZLLmbK7dmsbPV//RrC0wbCS6jr0UMBmqhT4cg2Sd2KtLgBcJgqa/a8eQMBYMmNDcEEFGEQlGXBvK+9Dhz2qz5AMQ= | dlowlw3tzFEXprcV+PkJwfk47q/2KPyTBrWbM+q1DOwW9fLVga93rUyjnsDaqWu8GjMSax/bea6JinITNkzzcnymxDi//9+XwiQ0Yli031A= | z0Y8Wm32oUu+OvQOEu2yvm4pWLE2qXgVPaczKQ== |
United Kingdom (pound) | RAYc+MwHtABkEdBSmpzYqjhxOnvvFx5q9d9g0C48ZYgI0KzKyDM5sevQvcDmTQxG5S1tJd2s4ttDua12omD0IB1B2X6dx2TvZz+vN835gqDKBwDPZggNg3IjnkU= | 0vod+HG2QdPC8EtIvw/9iwY4kFbCW1XXXl+ptsh1JHVwTtuLRHECxvmqBK7JzG+QMX4E3866nV2WdrveJ5kZLCxspvWmTr0J4c/TMPhihz8PFkHbKQdWOA== | sKhL/Ok4OpGp11iASPZYP1tYBMk1hgJ0RsisKFaeX/dkCpYWv8m7Mni/rFB50B/T6Pr1w41XSLYK53VkUTDvmY2su1vE7mPzfkQGqHKEqjw= | z0Y8Wm32oUu+OvQOEu2yvm4pWLE2qXgVPaczKQ== |
Mexico (new peso) | QZq03qkt46cjQ3tEyQQUi1cVdw9M6U+i7C7LuG5mBnjfQNcUzjccsA9+sHKo+7LyzacS87xYVhnwNAqXEIt7YIzVYnjxZ40aZ07zOK4MK8KNjZqWR7HhEQ9sVBs= | WeAw6h4Ce7AsZbKGuW4RjHKfoq0RACoPPMgqEOUJVqh/+rxoge56Hp1IhLEcm2SGT95oXeVWJHySexr45FoDN5SLtbhzAULZe3AE7N9VEleG/m0KPITVR+5b1cc= | 7sdAT53hyM5YFC1iLQB21vT2jbiWzp1XjZB/Oh3HeksxqqVPWIOqLBH6xWbqT8esHQL55FerPsNMi8Tq/QJH4gKIducPntqY+RhZHq9s4XU= | z0Y8Wm32oUu+OvQOEu2yvm4pWLE2qXgVPaczKQ== |
Now let’s explore how arbitrage works using the same countries.