The Relevance of Interest Rates to Forex Trading
When a trader discusses interest rates, it is certain that the trader is referring to the central bank's interest rate. Interest rates are the most important thing for forex traders because when expected interest rates change, currencies generally follow suit. Central banks have several monetary policy tools that can be used to influence interest rates. The most common:
- Open market operations: The buying and selling of securities in the market for the purpose of influencing interest rates.
- Discount interest rate: The rate charged to commercial banks and other depository institutions on loans they receive from their regional Federal Reserve Bank lending facilities.
The central bank has two main tasks: regulating inflation and maintaining the stability of the country's exchange rate. The central bank does this through changing interest rates and regulating the nation's money supply. When there is an increase in inflation above the central bank's target, traders will increase interest rates using policy tools that can limit the economy and inflation can be controlled again.
The Relevance of Interest Rates to Forex Trading
An investor in the UK who needs to invest large sums of money in risk-free assets, such as government bonds. Interest rates in the US are rising so investors are starting to buy US Dollars to invest in US government bonds.
British investors are not alone in investing in a country with higher interest rates. Many other investors follow the rising yields thereby increasing demand for the US dollar thereby driving up the currency. This is the essence of how interest rates affect currencies. Traders can try to forecast changes in interest rate expectations that can have a major impact on currencies.
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