Trends in International Trade and Cross Border Financial Flows
When a firm operates only in the domestic market, both for procuring inputs as well as selling its output, it needs to deal only in the domestic currency. As companies try to increase their international presence, either by undertaking international trade or by establishing operations in foreign countries, they start dealing with people and firms in various nations. Since different countries have different domestic currencies, the question arises as to which currency should the trade be settled in. The settlement currency may either be the domestic currency of one of the parties to the trade, or may be an internationally accepted currency. This gives rise to the problem of dealing with a number of currencies. The mechanism by which the exchange rate between these currencies (i.e., the value of one currency in terms of another) is determined, along with the level and the variability of the exchange rates can have Continue reading