Session 4: Economics for Valuation Reading 19: Foreign Exchange Parity Relations
LOS m: Discuss the foreign exchange expectation relation between the forward exchange rate and the expected exchange rate.
The Asian Spec Fund, managed by Jonathan Khamal, CFA, engages in currency speculation for its clients. Based in Paris, Khamal believes that there is an opportunity to speculate on the Malaysian Ringgit. The current spot exchange rate is 4.417 Malaysian Ringgit per euro. Assuming the one-year risk-free rate for the European Economic Community is 11.76% and the Malaysian one-year risk-free interest rate is 7.6%, what should the one-year forward rate be for the Malaysian Ringgit?
The formula for covered interest rate parity is: F / S0 = (1 + rFC) / (1 + rDC)
Forward premium or discount:
(F – S0) / S0 = [(1 + rFC) / (1 + rDC)] ? 1 = (rFC – rDC) / (1 + rDC)
By substituting:
%F = [(1 + 0.076) / (1 + 0.1176)] – 1 %F = [1.076 / 1.1176] – 1 %F = -0.0372 F = 4.417 MR/EUR × (1 – 0.0372) = 4.253 MR/EUR
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