Currency Exchange Rates

Exchange rates are influenced by banks and trading institutions and the volume of currency they are buying and selling at any given time. Currencies are traded (bought and sold) daily around the world.

One currency can be purchased by another currency through banking institutions or on the open market. The volumes of currencies traded are increased and decreased depending on the attractiveness of any particular currency, which depends on a multitude of factors such as political stability, economic strength, government debt and fiscal policy among others.

Government central banks also have the ability to set a currency at a constant price through a method called pegging, which essentially tethers the value of one currency to another. The value (or price) of a currency is determined by its traded volume. If a currency is competitively priced, traders will buy the currency, essentially driving up its value. If a currency is not competitively priced, traders may avoid buying, or even sell it, essentially driving down its value.

The exchange rates of the world’s currencies constantly move up and down against each other based on supply and demand. The more in demand a currency is, the higher its price will be. Changes in the foreign exchange market can be caused by this supply and demand, as well as by political and economic events.

Foreign exchange can be confusing. To help you make sense of it all, here are some common terms to do with currency:

Sell rate –This is the rate at which we sell foreign currency in exchange for local currency. For example, if you were heading to Europe, you would exchange Hong Kong dollars for euros at the sell rate.

Buy rate – This is the rate at which we buy foreign currency back from you into your local currency. For example, if you were returning from America, we would exchange your US dollars back into Hong Kong dollars at the buy rate.
Holiday money rate or tourist rate – This is another term for a sell rate.

Spot rate –This is known more formally as the ‘interbank’ rate. It’s the rate banks or large financial institutions charge each other when they’re trading significant amounts of foreign currency.
Spread – This is the difference between the buy and sell rates offered by a foreign exchange provider.

Cross rate – This is the rate we give to customers who want to exchange currencies that don’t involve the local currency (for example, if you wanted to exchange US dollars into British pounds).

Commission – This is the fee that foreign exchange providers charge for exchanging one currency with another.