Валютная интервенция

RU: Что такое валютная интервенция

Курс любой из торгуемых на рынке Форекс валюты является величиной переменной. На него влияют различные рыночные и нерыночные факторы. Сегодня мы дополним эту информацию и поговорим о том, что такое валютная интервенция.

Валютная интервенция – это один из инструментов национального банка

Термин интервенция (intervention) чаще всего применяется в случае, если речь идет о вмешательстве одного или группы государств в дела другого государства. Такая практика не приветствуется международным сообществом и запрещена. Но этот запрет не распространяется на валютную интервенцию. Напротив, практически все национальные банки широко используют её возможности в своей денежно-кредитной политике. Что же это за инструмент?

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United_States_dollar

Currency basket

After the abolition of the gold standard, many countries began to look for ways to minimize currency risks. But, as practice has shown, the currency basket turned out to be the most reliable tool for ensuring the security of the national currency and controlling the dynamics of its exchange rate. We have not yet talked about this economic instrument. Therefore, today we will try to fill this gap and get acquainted with the currency basket, its contents and scope.

CURRENCY BASKET IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR ASSESSING THE VALUE OF CURRENCY

Before talking about the currency basket, you need to define what is meant by this term. In economic theory, it is generally accepted that a currency basket is an arbitrarily formed set of several names of foreign currencies, the weighted average value of which is used to determine the value of a government obligation (debt) or the value of the national monetary unit.

The volume of currency included in the basket is determined by its specific gravity, which may depend on the following indicators:

  • The value of the country’s gross domestic product and its share in the total gross product of the countries whose currencies form a specific currency basket.
  • The parts dealing with foreign exchange in all international settlements and foreign trade transactions.

What is a currency basket in simple words?

Let’s assume that a country that has issued its own currency wants to objectively assess its value. Moreover, most contracts and international obligations are invested in euros, American dollars and British pounds. Therefore, the state can set the price of a currency as the cost of a basket, which includes (in a certain proportion) euros, dollars and pounds. This will make it possible to obtain an objective estimated value of the national currency in all international payments.

Practical use of the currency basket

In modern conditions, the currency basket can be used:

  • Issuing countries in their monetary policy.
  • Large financial structures and organizations working in the field of international lending.
  • Enterprises and individuals to protect existing funds from negative exchange rate fluctuations.

Depending on the filling, the basket can be:

  • Multicurrency, which is filled with an unlimited number of different currencies.
  • Dual currency, formed from two types of currencies.
  • The multi-currency basket option is more common because it allows parties to take into account both their own risks and the risks of their trading partners. In addition, when forming a multi-currency basket, additional opportunities for earnings or hedging open up that currency traders and investors can take advantage of.

As for the concept of “dual-currency basket,” the most striking example is the currency basket of the Bank of Russia, which was used until 2014. It consisted of two currencies: the euro and the US dollar. A special feature of the functionality of this basket was that it made it possible to systematically monitor the dynamics of the ruble exchange rate. It was not a separate exchange rate to the dollar or euro that was taken into account, but a generalized indicator with the share of each foreign currency was calculated. The presence of such an indicator allowed the country’s monetary authorities to reasonably adjust the exchange rate of the national currency. Since 2014, the ruble exchange rate has become floating, and the Bank of the Russian Federation basket has lost its original value

Basket of currencies in the practice of international monetary relations

At the interstate level, the currency basket is also widely used. An example of its practical use is the Special Drawing Rights (SDR), developed by the IMF in 1969. This artificially created payment instrument is used only within the framework of the International Monetary Fund. It allows:

  • Regulate the balance of payments of IMF member countries.
  • Replenish reserves and pay off loans provided by the Monetary Fund.

The SDR basket consists of the currencies of five countries:

  • USA (dollar).
  • European Alliance (euro).
  • Japan (yen).
  • UK (pound).
  • China (yuan).

However, the cost of the entire basket is expressed in US dollars. The other components included in the basket are given continually adjusted weighting.

Another example of the use of a currency basket is the special European Currency Unit (ECU). It has all the characteristics of a basket of currencies and has been used in the European Union for:

Implementation of non-cash transactions between countries.

Regulation of parities of state currencies with the aim of creating a single European currency.

Once the euro has been issued, this currency can no longer be identified with the ECU, since the basket of currencies is created in the form of a portfolio of several different from the base one.

Currency basket and currency index

Traders working in financial markets often confuse the concept of a currency basket and a currency index. This is due to the fact that working with a basket of currencies is similar in content to portfolio investments (a trading operation with several assets to reduce the risk component associated with exchange rate fluctuations).

A basket can consist of a set of different currency pairs. It is not necessary to have a specific base currency.

If we are talking about indices, then they must demonstrate the general trend for a specific currency.

An example would be the dollar index. It shows the ratio of the value of the US currency to the value of a basket of major currencies. The code of such an index is purchased, which actually opens a long position in currency pairs where the dollar is the base currency and a short position in those pairs where the dollar is the quote currency. In this case, it is obvious that it is incorrect to talk about trading a basket.

Selling the dollar index would mean buying the basket of currencies included in the index. But this is only a special case, on the basis of which it is unacceptable to talk about the identity of the concepts “currency basket” and “currency index”.

Currency basket in the Forex market

When used skillfully, the currency basket provides great opportunities for traders trading on the Forex currency market. Having such a basket allows you to:

  • Diversify risks when making trade transactions. Working with one currency does not allow you to do this. When creating a basket of currencies and working with it, this opportunity appears.
  • Determine the weight of a particular asset and their impact on the dynamics of currencies forming a pair with it.
  • Group currency pairs whose behavioral characteristics are important. Such signs include the relationship between the price of petroleum products and the exchange rate, the correlation between currency pairs, etc.
  • Create an effective trading strategy that allows you to conduct transactions not with one asset, but with several. This achieves not only the profitability of currency trading, but also reduces the risk component.

From all that has been said, we can conclude that in conditions of instability of exchange rates of individual currencies, the presence of a currency basket is a necessity. At the state level, with its help it is possible to achieve a significant reduction in currency risks and validity in international payments. Regular traders can also take advantage of the benefits provided by currency baskets. By forming such a basket, they can significantly improve the quality of their trading in the financial markets.

Currency

Currency risk in modern conditions

Nowadays, everyone who deals with currencies should understand what currency risk is and how to take it into account. This issue is of particular importance due to the fact that in modern conditions not only commercial organizations, but also individuals are exposed to currency risks. First of all, this is:

  • importers;
  • exporters;
  • banks;
  • creditors;
  • borrowers;
  • currency speculators and so on.

Currency risk is the probability of experiencing a loss

If we talk about risk, then the uncertainty of the final result is already implied. When working with currency, the risk component increases many times over. That is why such a concept as currency risk was introduced. This concept means that there is a possibility of a loss as a result of the currency exchange rate changing. It does not matter in which direction the exchange rate changes:

  • A financial loss to the exporter may occur as a result of a depreciation of the payment currency.
  • The importer risks losing part of the profit or incurring a loss if the payment currency rate increases.
  • As a result of foreign exchange transactions, a trader may receive a loss, both when the currency exchange rate rises and when it falls.

The probability of such losses is an objective reality that must be taken into account. Therefore, it is generally accepted that currency risk is one of the most important indicators in the work of commercial organizations and individuals.

Types of currency risks

In modern economic theory, currency risks are conventionally divided into the following types:

  • Operational currency risk. This type of currency risk can arise during trade and financial transactions related to investment (long-term lending). Possible lost profit or loss arises as a result of a temporary gap between the date of the trading transaction and the date of transfer of money for it in foreign currency. If at the time of transfer of money there is an unfavorable exchange rate gap, then the amount of revenue will be significantly less than what was expected to be received in accordance with the initial calculations.
  • Translational risk. Sometimes this type of currency risk is called balance sheet risk. This is due to the fact that in this case we are talking about recalculating the amount available on the balance sheet of an organization or commercial company from one currency to another. For example, such a recalculation may be performed to determine the borrower’s foreign currency debt. If the exchange rate of a foreign currency has changed, the result may not be in favor of the company that borrowed the currency.
  • Economic risk. Currency risk of this type manifests itself if exchange rate fluctuations in foreign currency affect the economic condition of a business entity. For example, a company uses imported raw materials to manufacture its products. If the price of these raw materials begins to rise, this will cause an increase in the price of the final product, a decrease in the competitiveness of the enterprise and a deterioration in its economic performance.

It should be noted that this classification is valid for enterprises whose main activity is not foreign exchange transactions. Such operations are carried out by commercial banks. Therefore, the bank’s currency risks need to be discussed separately.

Bank currency risk

Commercial banks are active participants in the foreign exchange market. They regularly purchase and sell foreign currency:

  • If a bank enters the market with the intention of buying foreign currency, then it has requirements for the transaction to purchase the required amount of currency.
  • When selling currency, the bank undertakes to provide a certain amount of currency to the counterparty within a specified time frame.

If there is parity between the bank’s requirements and obligations, its currency position will be considered closed. If there is an imbalance in the requirements and obligations of a participant in the foreign exchange market, then the bank’s foreign exchange position will be open. Understanding this is particularly important due to the fact that currency risk and currency position are interrelated concepts.

With an open position, the bank’s currency risk becomes greater, since it may be influenced by various market and non-market factors. There are several types of currency risks associated with a currency position:

  • Exchange rate risk. Negative dynamics of the foreign currency exchange rate until the currency position is closed can lead to significant losses for the bank.
  • Interest rate risk. This type of risk is associated with possible changes in interest rates on open currency positions.
  • Credit risk. This risk of financial loss arises in the event of failure to repay an open position by one of the parties to the transaction.
  • Sovereign risk. This is the risk that there will be interference in the operation of the foreign exchange market by a government regulatory body. The possibility of such interference exists, and it can lead to negative consequences in the work of any commercial bank.

Currency risk in international payments also falls on the shoulders of commercial banks. Therefore, for their part, they are doing everything possible to reduce the risk component in working with foreign currency. This issue should be given increased attention by all business entities that carry out transactions with foreign currency and depend on its exchange rate.

Currency risk and methods of its regulation

In a free market, currency risk will be present in all transactions involving a particular currency, since its exchange rate is unstable. What needs to be done to minimize this risk, and what methods exist to regulate it?

Currently, there are many techniques, the use of which can significantly lower the level of currency risk. Conventionally, they are divided into two large groups:

  1. Internal. Risk management practices within one enterprise or company will be considered internal. They may consist of the following organizational actions:
    Close the currency position to purchase the desired currency in an amount that allows you to enter into long-term export and import contracts.
    Make proactive price adjustments (in national currency) for manufactured products, taking into account exchange rate fluctuations in the foreign exchange market.
    Carry out diversification at the stage of signing long-term contracts. That is, contracts must be signed with the possibility of their execution in different currencies that have different trends in exchange rate changes.
    Use a currency clause when concluding a contract. In practice, the currency clause is of two types, and contains the following information:
    In all settlements between the parties, use only “hard” currency.
    When making payments, review the contract value taking into account changes in the exchange rate of the currency agreed upon by the parties.
  2. External. External risk management methods include the following:
    Urgent foreign exchange transactions on interbank markets or exchanges. These can be futures, forwards or options contracts.
    Insurance. This risk management method is most widely used in practice. To implement it, financial transactions are carried out to compensate for possible losses from unfavorable changes in the exchange rate. Such operations include:
    Hedging operations, which most often come down to opening forward currency transactions.
    Forex currency swap or two identical, but oppositely directed transactions with different execution dates.
    Netting. This is a method of minimizing the number of foreign exchange transactions due to their consolidation.
    Acceleration or slowdown of payments in foreign currency during periods of strong volatility in the foreign exchange market.

There are other methods for regulating currency risks. It doesn’t matter which of these methods you use in practice. The main thing is that the effect of such regulation be greatest.

cfd

What is CFD in Forex trading?

“Contract for difference” or “contact for price difference” – this is how the term CFD trading stands for. It is an integral part of modern trading, so every potential participant in trading in financial markets has encountered this concept at least once. But what is CFD on Forex, and how to properly use this tool in everyday trading?

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ecu

RU: Валютная корзина

После отмены золотого стандарта многие страны стали искать способы минимизации валютных рисков. Но, как показала практика, валютная корзина оказалась наиболее надежным инструментом обеспечения безопасности национальной валюты и контроля динамики ее курса. Об этом экономическом инструменте мы еще не говорили. Поэтому сегодня постараемся восполнить этот пробел и познакомимся с валютной корзиной, ее наполнением и областью применения.

ВАЛЮТНАЯ КОРЗИНА – ЭТО ЭФФЕКТИВНЫЙ ИНСТРУМЕНТ ОЦЕНКИ СТОИМОСТИ ВАЛЮТЫ

Прежде чем говорить о валютной корзине, нужно определиться, что понимается под этим термином. В экономической теории принято считать, что валютная корзина – это произвольно сформированный набор из нескольких наименований иностранных валют, средневзвешенное значение которого используется для определения стоимости государственного обязательства (долга) или стоимости национальной денежной единицы.

Объем валюты, включаемый в состав корзины, определяется по ее удельному весу, который может зависеть от следующих показателей:

  • Величины валового внутреннего продукта страны и его доли в совокупном валовом продукте стран, валюты которых формируют конкретную валютную корзину.
  • Части, занимающиеся иностранной валютой, во всех международных расчетах и ​​внешнеэкономических торговых операциях.

О том, что такое валютная корзина простыми словами

Предположим, что страна, выпустившая в обращение собственную валюту, хочет объективно оценить ее стоимость. При этом большинство контрактов и международных обязательств вложено в евро, американских долларах и британских фунтах. Поэтому устанавливать цену валюты государство может как стоимость корзины, в которую входят (в определенной пропорции) евро, доллары и фунты. Это позволит получить объективную оценочную стоимость национальной валюты во всех международных расчетах.

Практическое использование валютной корзины

В современных условиях валютная корзина может использоваться:

  • Странами-эмитентами в своей денежно-кредитной политике.
  • Большие финансовые структуры и организации, работающие в сфере международного кредитования.
  • Предприятия и физические лица для защиты имеющихся средств от негативных курсовых колебаний.

В зависимости от заполнения корзина может быть:

  • Мультивалютным, что наполняется неограниченным числом разных валют.
    Бивалютным, сформированным из двух наименований валют.
  • Мультивалютный вариант корзины более распространен, поскольку она позволяет сторонам учитывать как собственные риски, так и риски своих торговых партнеров. Кроме того, при формировании мультивалютной корзины открываются дополнительные возможности для заработка или хеджирования, которыми могут воспользоваться валютные трейдеры и инвесторы.

Что касается понятия «бивалютная корзина», то наиболее ярким ее примером является валютная корзина Банка России, которая применялась вплоть до 2014 года. Он состоял из двух валют: евро и доллара США. Особенностью функционала этой корзины было то, что она позволяла системно следить за динамикой курса рубля. Учитывался не отдельно взятый курс к доллару или евро, а рассчитывался обобщенный показатель с удельным весом каждой иностранной валюты. Наличие такого показателя позволяло монетарным властям страны обоснованно корректировать курс национальной валюты. Начиная с 2014 года, курс рубля стал плавающим, и корзина Банка РФ потеряла свое первоначальное значение

Корзина валют в практике международных денежно-кредитных взаимоотношений

На межгосударственном уровне также широко применяется валютная корзина. Пример его практического использования – особые права заимствования (SDR), разработанные МВФ в 1969 году. Этот искусственно созданный платежный инструмент используется только в рамках Международного валютного фонда. Он позволяет:

  • Регулировать платежный баланс стран-членов МВФ.
  • Пополнять резервы и рассчитываться по кредитам, предоставленным валютным фондом.

Корзина SDR состоит из валют пяти стран:

  • США (доллар).
  • Европейский альянс (евро).
  • Японии (йена).
  • Великобритании (фунт).
  • Китай (юань).

Но при этом стоимость всей корзины выражается в долларах США. Другим компонентам, входящим в состав корзины, предоставляется постоянно корректируемый весовой коэффициент.

Другим примером применения валютной корзины является специальная универсальная европейская валютная единица (ECU). Она имеет все характеристики, характерные для корзины валют, и использовалась в странах Европейского союза для:

Осуществление безналичных сделок между странами.

Регулирование паритетов государственных валют с целью сотворения единой европейской валюты.

После того как в обращение было выпущено евро, эту валюту уже нельзя отождествлять с ECU, поскольку корзина валют создается в форме портфеля из нескольких отличных от базовой.

Валютная корзина и валютный индекс

Трейдеры, работающие на финансовых рынках, часто путают понятие валютной корзины и валютного индекса. Связано это с тем, что работа с корзиной валют по своему содержанию сродни портфельным инвестициям (торговая операция с несколькими активами для уменьшения рисковой составляющей, связанной с курсовыми колебаниями).

Корзина может состоять из набора разных валютных пар. Наличие в нем конкретной базовой валюты не обязательно.

Если речь идет об индексах, то они должны демонстрировать общую тенденцию по конкретной валюте.

Примером может служить индекс доллара. Он показывает соотношение стоимости американской валюты к стоимости корзины, состоящей из основных валют. Код такого индекса покупается, то фактически происходит открытие длинной позиции в валютных парах, где доллар является базовой валютой и короткой позиции в тех парах, где доллар является валютой котировки. В таком случае очевидно, что говорить о торговле корзиной некорректно.

Продажа индекса доллара будет означать покупку корзины валют, включенных в состав этого индекса. Но это лишь частный случай, на основании которого недопустимо говорить об идентичности понятий “валютная корзина” и “валютный индекс”.

Валютная корзина на рынке Форекс

Валютная корзина при умелом ее использовании предоставляет большие возможности трейдерам, торгующим на валютном рынке Форекс. Наличие такой корзины позволяет:

  • Диверсифицировать риски при совершении торговых сделок. Работа с одной валютой не позволяет это делать. При формировании корзины валют и работе с ней такая возможность появляется.
  • Определять вес конкретного актива и их влияния на динамику валют, образующих с ним пару.
  • Сгруппировать валютные пары, признаки поведения которых важны. К числу таких признаков можно отнести взаимосвязь между ценой на нефтепродукты и курсом валюты, корреляцию между валютными парами и т.д.
  • Создать эффективную торговую стратегию, позволяющую проводить сделки не с одним активом, а с несколькими. Этим достигается не только прибыльность торговли валютами, но и снижается рисковая составляющая.

Из всего сказанного можно сделать вывод о том, что в условиях нестабильности курсов отдельных валют, наличие валютной корзины – это потребность. На государственном уровне с ее помощью можно добиться значительного снижения валютных рисков и обоснованности в международных расчетах. Обычные трейдеры также могут воспользоваться преимуществами, предоставляемыми корзинами валют. Сформировав такую ​​корзину они могут значительно улучшить качество своей торговли на финансовых рынках.

Bloomberg

Bloomberg named the world’s most profitable stocks

Shares of South Korean enterprises specializing in the production of electronics components are rising amid US sanctions against Chinese companies

Shares of the South Korean cathode manufacturer Ecopro Co have outperformed the shares of all other companies from the Bloomberg world index (2,647 participants), providing a return of 571% since the beginning of 2023, the publication writes.

The yield of these securities is 200% higher than Kum Yang Co, which took second place in the rating. The South Korean company also produces components for electric vehicle batteries. Bloomberg associates investor interest in Korean battery manufacturers and their suppliers with the fact that a number of their Chinese competitors have fallen under US sanctions. In early October, the United States imposed sanctions against 42 Chinese firms.

The list included mainly companies working with electronics and technology. At the end of the same month, three more Chinese companies fell under sanctions; the United States accused them of transferring technology to Pakistan for the production of ballistic missiles. The stock’s gains were driven in part by expectations of increased orders for electric vehicle batteries earlier this year. The rise continued even as some analysts cut their demand forecasts.

As Bloomberg notes, before the government’s recent ban on short selling, Ecopro shares were one of the most popular among short sellers in South Korea. Let us remind you that the country introduced a ban on short selling of shares from November 6, 2023 until June 2024.

Regulators said the move was necessary to stop illegal trading tactics routinely used by hedge funds and other investors around the world. Following this decision, the South Korean stock market rose sharply.