The inability to effectively hedge against unfavourable exchange rate movements, using the
current forward exchange rate as the only guideline, is a key inhibiting factor of international
trade. Market participants use the current forward exchange rate quoted in the market to make
decisions regarding future exchange rate changes. However, the current forward exchange rate
is not solely determined by the interaction of demand and supply, but is also a mechanistic
estimation, which is based on the current spot exchange rate and the carry cost of the
transaction. Results of various studies, including this study, demonstrated that the current
forward exchange rate differs substantially from the realized future spot exchange rate. This
phenomenon is known as the exchange rate puzzle.
This study contributes to the dynamics of modelling exchange rate theories by developing an
exchange rate model that has the ability to explain the realized future spot exchange rate and
the exchange rate puzzle. The exchange rate model is based only on current (time t) economic
fundamentals and includes an alternative approach of incorporating the impact of the interaction
of two international financial markets into the model. This study derived a unique exchange rate
model, which proves that the exchange rate puzzle is a pseudo problem. The pseudo problem
is based on the generally excepted fallacy that current non–stationary, level time series data
cannot be used to model exchange rate theories, because of the incorrect assumption that all
the available econometric methods yield statistically insignificant results due to spurious
regressions. Empirical evidence conclusively shows that using non–stationary, level time series
data of current economic fundamentals can statistically significantly explain the realized future
spot exchange rate and, therefore, that the exchange rate puzzle can be solved.
This model will give market participants in the foreign exchange market a better indication of
expected future exchange rates, which will considerably reduce the dependence on the
mechanistically derived forward points. The newly derived exchange rate model will also have an influence on the demand and supply of forward exchange, resulting in forward points that are
a more accurate prediction of the realized future exchange rate. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Risk management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/4511 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Van Heerden, Petrus Marthinus Stephanus |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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