The alignment of forces on the currency market could seriously change over the next few months as the heated currency wars developing around the world make adjustments to the value of major currencies, KW wrote. Intentional devaluation of the Swiss franc, which the country’s national bank is conducting to support the national economy, is a clear example. Over the last month of summer, the Swiss central bank reduced interest rates practically to zero. At the beginning of September, it introduced strict pegging of the franc to the euro, fixing the EUR/CHF exchange rate at the level of 1.20. As a result, the value of the Swiss franc against the U.S. dollar dropped by around 20%. In Ukraine, the selling rate of the Swiss franc dropped from 9.80 on September 3 to 8.60 on September 30.
Japan also intentionally devalued its national currency. Over the past year, it intervened on the currency market twice in order to mitigate the growth the yen and prevent the stagnation of the economy. The country’s government is currently getting ready for new interventions. It has already sanctioned the allocation of an additional 15 trillion yen (US $195 bn) to a fund set up for intervening on currency markets thanks to which the fund’s size will reach a record high of 46 trillion yen.
“The British pound may also come under pressure in 2012, since the economy of the UK will face serious challenges such as high unemployment and weak economic growth in general,” Head of the Monetary and Currency Markets Department at VAB Bank Natalia Shyshatska told KW.
