Forex Year End Checkup

The latest infographic released by OANDA is a “tongue-in-cheek” look at the relative health for the world’s major currencies. Using some of the indicators that typically have the most impact on exchange rates, together with comments from authorities and government officials, the medical chart even offers a “prognosis” for the coming months.

No review of the past year could possibly begin with a topic other than the Eurozone debt crisis. Despite a dozen or so emergency meetings, and a few hundred billion in emergency funding being committed to the cause, the Eurozone picture is actually worse today than it was one year ago. On December 15th, Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, described the global outlook as “gloomy” and the peril facing the European economy in particular as “escalated”.

So what does this mean for other currencies? For the U.S., it probably means a gain in demand as during times of uncertainty, investors typically adopt a “safe haven” play by abandoning other currencies in favor of the dollar. For the Canadian and Australian dollars, weaker global demand for exports and raw materials could result in slower growth for the respective economies.

Click on the infographic below for a closer look at the major currencies:

Forex Year End Checkup

Created by OANDA

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.