The relationship between the forward and realised spot exchange rate in South Africa

It is well known that the forward exchange rate and the realised future spot exchange rate differ. This phenomenon is better known as the exchange rate puzzle. Two approaches were followed to ascertain whether this difference is due to the weak explanatory ability of current economic fundamentals or...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chris van Heerden, André Heymans
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2012-04-01
Series:Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jefjournal.org.za/index.php/jef/article/view/312
Description
Summary:It is well known that the forward exchange rate and the realised future spot exchange rate differ. This phenomenon is better known as the exchange rate puzzle. Two approaches were followed to ascertain whether this difference is due to the weak explanatory ability of current economic fundamentals or whether the use of an ineffective econometric approach to model exchange rate theories is to blame. The first approach makes use of stationary economic time series data to model the ZAR/USD realised future spot exchange rate, while the second uses non-stationary level economic data to model the ZAR/USD realised future spot exchange rate. While the first approach reported weak results, the second approach illustrated that economic fundamentals are able to explain the ZAR/USD realised future spot exchange rate. These results also confirm that the exchange rate puzzle is a pseudoproblem.
ISSN:1995-7076
2312-2803