It is widely held that currencies of surplus countries, such as China, cannot enjoy wide international use. We argue that the eurodollar market has had little to do with the direction of net capital flows or the US current account balance. It has played different roles over the past 38 years,...

The most recent BIS triennial survey shows that turnover in foreign exchange markets increased by more than 70% over the three years to April 2007. Two specific findings stand out. First, the growth in transactions between banks and other financial institutions was particularly strong,...

Derivatives markets in emerging economies have continued to grow since 2010, driven mostly by very strong growth in the OTC market. Emerging market currencies have become more international as offshore markets are a major contributor to FX turnover. The Chinese renminbi is actively traded within...

Turnover of derivatives has grown more rapidly in emerging markets than in developed countries. Foreign exchange derivatives are the most commonly traded of all risk categories, with increasingly frequent turnover in emerging market currencies and a growing share of cross-border transactions. As...

US dollar credit is growing quickly outside the United States, especially in Asia, and in some economies it has outpaced overall credit growth. Cross-border sources of credit bear watching in view of their record of outgrowing overall credit in credit booms. Foreign currency and cross-border...

For now, effective capital controls allows the Chinese authorities to retain regulated deposit and lending rates, quantitative credit guidance and bond-market rationing. Relaxing capital controls would put these policies at risk. Reserve requirements can be extended to bank inflows from the...

This feature argues that a combination of factors caused the surprising US dollar appreciation in the second half of 2008. Both the global flight to safety into US Treasury bills and the reversal of carry trades amidst the crisis were sources of dollar strength. In addition, the surge in dollar...

Exchange rate movements during the global financial crisis of 2007-09 were unusual. Unlike in two previous episodes - the Asian crisis of 1997-98 and the crisis following the Russian debt default in 1998 - in 2008 a large number of currencies depreciated sharply even though they were not at the...

At times of heightened global equity and bond market volatility, high-yielding currencies tend to depreciate while low-yielding ones tend to serve as a "safe haven". The whole spectrum of sensitivity to global volatility is represented among Asia-Pacific currencies.

Asian policymakers are giving consideration to allowing their currencies to be used by non-residents. If policy allows this and a robust fixed income market provides support, the Australian experience indicates that a currency can internationalise fairly quickly, particularly if it offers a...