Definition-consistent measurement of exchange market pressure

Currencies can be under severe pressure, but in a managed exchange rate regime that is not fully visible via the change in the exchange rate. The literature has proposed a way to measure such exchange market pressure (EMP) indirectly, by adding interest rate changes and forex interventions to the exchange rate change. We demonstrate that this measure is not consistent with the definition of EMP and develop a new measure that is consistent. This is first derived within the commonly used monetary exchange rate model. Then we generalize the analysis by avoiding the use of an exchange rate model. We find that the interest rate should not be taken in the first-difference form used so far, but rather in level form and relative to the interest rate chosen if the country had no exchange rate objective. Applications on the European Monetary System and East Asian crises confirm that this improvement is highly relevant in practice.     

Quantitative modelling of the EUR/CHF exchange rate during the target zone regime of September 2011 to January 2015

Krugman (1991)'s target zone model for exchange rate dynamics has become the reference of a large part of this literature. Despite its simplicity and elegance, empirical evidence has been lacking, not least because it is difficult to capture the predicted non-linear relationship between the observable exchange rate and the non-observable fundamental value. This is why we propose a different approach. By inverting locally the relation between exchange rate and fundamental value, we derive analytical expressions for the conditional volatility and the probability density as a function of the exchange rate. This allows us to examine Krugman's prediction directly from historical data, and, furthermore, enables us to test the smooth pasting condition, which is intimately related to the no-arbitrage condition. Concretely, we study the performance of the euro/Swiss franc exchange rate in the extraordinary period from September 6, 2011 to January 15, 2015, when the Swiss National Bank enforced a minimum exchange rate of 1.20 Swiss francs per euro. We show that the data are well explained by the theory and conclude that Krugman's target zone model holds after all, but apparently only under extreme and sustained pressure that pushes continuously the exchange rate very close to the boundary of the target zone.     

On the determinants of “small” and “large” foreign exchange market interventions: The case of the Japanese interventions in the 1990s

During the past 30 years, central banks have often intervened in foreign exchange markets, and the magnitude of their foreign exchange market interventions has varied widely. We develop a quantitative reaction function model that renders it possible to examine the determinants of “small” and “large” interventions. We apply the model to analyzing the intervention policy of the Japanese monetary authorities (JMA) in the yen/U.S. dollar market during the period from 1991 through 2001. To this end, we use recently released official data on the foreign exchange market interventions of the JMA. We find that the JMA tended to conduct large interventions when the yen/U.S. dollar exchange rate drifted away from an “implicit target exchange rate.”     

Is foreign exchange intervention by central banks bad news for debt markets?: A case of Reserve Bank of Australia's interventions 1986–2003

We investigate the effects of the Reserve Bank of Australia's foreign exchange interventions on the USD/AUD market and 90-day and 10-year interest rate futures markets for the period July 1986–December 2003. Using recently released revised and updated intervention data, we investigate contemporaneous and disaggregated intervention influences and find significant evidence for (i) intervention effectiveness in moderating the contemporaneous exchange rate movements especially if interventions were cumulative and large, (ii) exchange rate volatility reducing effect with a day's lag, (iii) undesirable interest rate movements following interventions in some periods compromising monetary policy effectiveness, and (iv) a volatility reducing effect of cumulative interventions in the 90-day rate, and a volatility increasing effect of large interventions in both the 90-day and 10-year rate futures. These findings are a unique and significant contribution to the prevailing literature as they demonstrate that the RBA's interventions matter not only for the foreign exchange market but also for the debt markets.     

Capital controls,competitive depreciation,and the technological frontier

This paper considers the internal and external welfare effects of international capital controls and real exchange rate undervaluation in a multi-country setting. I present a dynamic open-economy macro model with an endogenously determined rate of interest on internationally traded assets. All countries produce tradable and nontradable goods using technology that converges over time to a global frontier. The model quantifies the welfare effects of the unilateral implementation of capital controls that depreciate the real exchange rate in economies both already at and converging to the technological frontier. For developing economies, I demonstrate that such government interventions may constitute “beggar-thy-neighbor” policies.     

Official interventions and the forward premium anomaly

This paper presents evidence that the forward premium anomaly intensifies during those times when a central bank intervenes. A model of exchange rate determination is presented to explain this and other features of the dollar–deutschemark and dollar–yen markets. In the model, the forward premium anomaly is caused by surprise central bank interventions in the foreign exchange market. Because interventions are pure surprises, the violations of uncovered interest parity that they create do not represent ex ante profit opportunities. Simulations of the model are found to match the forward premium anomaly and several other notable features of the data. The model also provides a theoretical basis for ARCH effects in exchange-rate returns.     

The advantages of introducing an exchange rate target within the statutes of the European Central Bank

With the help of a Keynesian dynamic macro-economic model in an open economy, this paper studies the possible consequences of introducing an exchange rate target within the statutes of the European Central Bank. It appears that such a target would have only slight implications for the mitigation of demand or external supply shocks. In the case of internal negative supply shocks, this scheme could limit the conflict of goals between the monetary and budgetary authorities and reduce the slowdown in economic activity. Nevertheless, the fact that the central bank tends to limit the fluctuations in its interest rates already has the same implications. On the contrary, in the case of positive shocks on interest rates in the rest of the world, an exchange rate target could have its own advantages. Such a scheme could limit the budgetary deficits and the variations in economic activity triggered by foreign shocks.     

Estimating the credibility of an exchange rate target zone

Recent breakthroughs in the theory of exchange rate target zones have not been followed by similar contributions on the empirical side. The drift adjustment method of evaluating the credibility of a target zone has become common practice. However, the estimates of the expected rate of depreciation inside the band do not model knowledge of the band in the agents' information set. In this paper, a rational expectations limited-dependent variable method to estimate the expected rate of depreciation is used to remedy this weakness. In the case of the franc-mark target zone with daily data covering a 4-year period, we show that expected rates of devaluation of the order of 2.5% were still present in the early 1990s. Their reappearance in the autumn of 1992 may thus not be surprising.     

在岸与离岸人民币即期汇差的时变影响研究——基于修正的抛补利率平价模型的实证检验

基于修正的抛补利率平价模型,构建TVP-SV-VAR模型分析北向资金流动、人民币远期汇差、中美利差和中港利差对在岸与离岸人民币即期汇差的时变影响。结果表明：北向资金、人民币远期汇差以及中美、中港利差均对人民币即期汇差的短期影响最明显,中长期影响程度减弱;北向资金净流入增加、中美利差走阔和中港利差收窄会扩大人民币即期汇差;人民币远期汇差对人民币即期汇差的正向和负向影响交替发生。鉴于此,中国央行应当持续关注北向资金流向和流量、加强外汇市场沟通以及统筹和推动在岸和离岸人民币市场的良性协调发展。     

Global asset prices and FOMC announcements

This paper analyzes the impact of U.S. monetary policy announcement surprises on foreign equity indexes, short- and long-term interest rates, and exchange rates in 49 countries. We use two proxies for monetary policy surprises: the surprise change to the current target federal funds rate (target surprise) and the revision to the expected path of future monetary policy (path surprise). We find that different asset classes respond to different components of the monetary policy surprises. Global equity indexes respond mainly to the target surprise; exchange rates and long-term interest rates respond mainly to the path surprise; and short-term interest rates respond to both surprises. On average, a hypothetical surprise 25-basis-point cut in the federal funds target rate is associated with about a 1 percent increase in foreign equity indexes and a 5 basis point decline in foreign short-term interest rates. A surprise 25-basis-point downward revision in the expected path of future policy is associated with about a ½ percent decline in the exchange value of the dollar against foreign currencies and 5 and 8 basis point declines in short- and long-term interest rates, respectively. We also find that asset prices’ responses to FOMC announcements vary greatly across countries, and that these cross-country variations in the response are related to a country’s exchange rate regime. Equity indexes and interest rates in countries with a less flexible exchange rate regime respond more to U.S. monetary policy surprises. In addition, the cross-country variation in the equity market response is strongly related to the percentage of each country’s equity market capitalization owned by U.S. investors. This result suggests that investors’ asset holdings may play a role in transmitting monetary policy surprises across countries.     

Central bank interventions and exchange rates: an analysis with high frequency data

We use high frequency data for the mark–dollar exchange rate for the period 1992–1995 to evaluate the effects of central bank interventions on the foreign exchange market. We estimate an unobserved component model that decomposes volatility into non-stationary and stationary parts. Stationary components in turn are decomposed into seasonal and non-seasonal intra-day parts. Our results confirm the view that interventions are not particularly effective. The exchange rate moves in the desired direction for only about 50% of the time, and often with a substantial increase in volatility. The model suggests that the two components, which are affected the most by interventions, are the permanent and the stochastic intra-day.     

Is monetary policy effective in dampening fiscally induced exchange market pressures? Evidence from Ghana

Episodes of currency crises in Ghana over the recent past were examined. We also address two fundamental questions using VAR framework. First, how does fiscal policy relate to exchange market pressures (EMPs) in Ghana? Second, whether persistent fiscal slippages hinder the effective use of interest rate as monetary policy tool to influence undesirable exchange rate fluctuations? We found sterilization interventions to be more effective than interest rate as a monetary policy tool in moderating tensions in foreign exchange market. Higher recurrent expenditure was generally associated with higher EMP, while capital expenditures tend to assuage EMP. We recommend strong policy coordination between the fiscal and monetary authorities to ensure macroeconomic stability.     

Capital controls: The case of Argentina

In this paper, the effects of capital controls on the observed nominal interest rate differential, adjusted for exchange rate changes, between Argentina and the United States are examined. A simple model of portfolio behavior is used, which is based on Dooley and Isard's (1980) work. The model separates the component of the observed nominal interest rate differential adjusted for exchange rate changes between the Argentinian rate and the dollar rate, which was due to political and exchange risk premia associated with prospective controls, from the component of the differential due to the existing controls. The empirical analysis shows that both the existing and prospective contrls combined explain about 83 per cent of the nominal interest rate differential.     

中国利率市场化程度与跨境贸易人民币结算量的关系研究

运用向量自回归(VAR)模型分析我国利率市场化程度与跨境贸易人民币结算量之间的相互关系,运用格兰杰因果检验、脉冲响应等方法对模型进行计量经济意义的检验。结论表明：利率市场化程度与跨境贸易人民币结算量的关系是从初期的相互促进作用逐渐减弱最终趋于平稳。对此,要完善人民币汇率形成机制,提高利率与汇率的相关性,有序推动资本项目自由兑换,共同稳步推进我国利率市场化与人民币国际化进程。     

Target zones and conditional volatility: The role of realignments

This paper examines the relationship between the conditional volatility of target zone exchange rates and realignments of the system. To investigate this question, modified jump-diffusion Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and absolute value GARCH models are fit to six exchange rates of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System (EMS). Time-varying jump probability and absolute value GARCH models are effective in improving the fit of jump-diffusion models on target zone data. There is some evidence that conditional volatility is higher around the periods of realignments.     

全球化、资产价格变动与中国货币政策反应——基于泰勒规则的扩展研究

在经济全球化、虚拟化的背景下对泰勒规则进行了扩展研究,分析了利率与汇率、利率与资产价格的相关影响机制;并采用静态模型和基于预期的动态模型对名义利率与通货膨胀水平、产出缺口、汇率、股票价格缺口以及房地产价格缺口之间的关系进行了检验。结果显示,考虑预期因素的动态模型能够达到稳定通货膨胀的作用,短期名义利率对于汇率和资产价格起到了符合经济意义的稳定作用。     

Interventions in the Yen–dollar spot market: A story of price,volatility and volume

We test the effectiveness of Bank of Japan (BOJ)’s foreign exchange interventions on conditional first and second moments of exchange rate returns and traded volumes, using a bivariate EGARCH model of the Yen/USD market from 5-13-1991 to 3-16-2004. We also estimate a friction model of BOJ’s intervention reaction function based on reducing short-term market disorderliness and supplementing domestic monetary policy. Important finding of this study are that: (i) we find ineffectiveness of BOJ interventions in influencing exchange rate trends pre-1995, in general, but effectiveness post-1995; (ii) FED intervention amplified the effectiveness of the BOJ transactions; (iii) interventions amplified market volatility and volumes through a ‘learning by trading’ process; (iv) BOJ’s interventions were based on ‘leaning against the wind’ motivations on the exchange rate trend and volumes; and (v) BOJ interventions were vigorously used in support of domestic monetary policy objectives post-1995. Though some of our findings confirm recent studies, our analysis goes deeper to provide new findings with important implications for central banks and foreign exchange market participants.     

The impact of FX central bank intervention in a noise trading framework

In this paper, we analyse the effectiveness of the direct central bank interventions using a new effectiveness criterion. To this aim, we investigate the effects of central bank interventions (CBI) in a noise trading model with chartists and fundamentalists. We first estimate a model in which chartists extrapolate past returns and fundamentalists forecast a mean reverting dynamics of the exchange rate towards a fundamental value. Then, we investigate the role of central bank interventions for explaining the switching properties between the two types of agents. We find evidence that in the medium run, interventions increase the proportion of fundamentalists and therefore exert some stabilizing influence on the exchange rate.     

论东亚建立不确定性干预边界的汇率合作机制

论文首先分析东亚实施钉住混合货币篮的汇率目标区制存在的弊端,从新的视角提出,这一地区应建立以不确定性干预边界为核心的汇率合作机制;进而指出,这一汇率合作机制更具有弹性,可使各国规避货币冲击,易于搭建汇率合作的平台。