In forex trading, fundamental analysis looks at the outlook of a whole economy to determine the actual value of a currency. The value is then compared with the value of other currencies to assess whether it will strengthen or weaken relative to those currencies.
This post will further discuss how fundamental analysis is used in forex, what to look out for, and how you can incorporate it into your trading.
What is Fundamental Analysis?
Fundamental analysis is a way of looking at the forex market by analysing economic, social, and political forces that may affect currency prices. The idea behind this type of analysis is that if a country’s current or future economic outlook is good, its currency should strengthen due to an increase in demand for that specific currency.
The better shape a country’s economy is in, the more attractive it is, which will lead to foreign businesses and investors investing in that country. This results in the need to purchase that country’s currency to obtain those assets. There are a multitude of factors that determine the intrinsic value of a country’s currency. Factors covering a whole range of economic data, social trends, and political developments come together to generate a broad view of the outlook for the country. This will subsequently drive the outlook for the currency.
Due to this, forex fundamental analysis allows traders and speculators to take a longer-term view of whether the current value of a currency will likely increase or decrease towards its actual worth.
Fundamental Analysis Information
So, what information is used in the fundamental analysis of forex markets? There are several fundamental factors and components that analysts use to value a currency. From an economic perspective, the most important data are interest rates, inflation, economic growth, homes, and employment.
Central banks and governments will use all of this information to formulate their monetary policy and fiscal policy, respectively. Changes to interest rates will impact the outlook that fundamental analysts have on a currency. As such, central bank policy decisions and governments' fiscal policy decisions are critical factors in the valuation of a currency. (More on this later.)
Key Fundamental Data
Let’s go into further detail on some of the most important fundamental data and how they impact the valuation of a currency:
Interest rates
Interest rates are a tool that central banks use to control an economy. Depending on how a country's economy is performing, central banks will adjust the general interest rate level to bring the economy back towards its respective targeted levels.
When the level of one country’s interest rates is compared to another, this is a driver of the relative attractions of the currencies. A higher interest rate level will generate a better return for the holder of assets in that currency since higher interest rates draw capital from around the world as money seeks a higher rate of return, thereby increasing the demand for the currency as foreigners convert their domestic currency into the investment. Thus, the currency will strengthen relative to the other currency. Additionally, government bond yields are an indicator of the market’s outlook for central bank interest rates. Bonds pay a fixed income, so fluctuations in a bond’s price will determine its yield. If a central bank raises the interest rate, traders can get a better return on their money at the bank; therefore, the fixed-income government bond will likely be sold.
So, if yields reflect the expectation of interest rate moves, fundamental analysts can compare the government bond yields of various countries to assess the relative valuation of the currencies. That is why fundamental analysts will look at interest rate differentials in their valuation to determine whether a currency is mispriced.
Inflation
Inflation is caused by an excess supply of money in a country's economy. This then leads to more spending, which then leads to an increase in prices. If the inflation rate is higher in one country than in another, then the relative value of its currency will decline. It is possible for inflation to get completely out of control, and in fact, there are some countries that print so much money that their currency becomes almost worthless as money. Because money has such an important function in all societies, people will often find substitutes when the domestic currency becomes worthless—even using the currency of another country, in what is also known as 'dollarization.'
Inflation is a crucial driver of central bank interest rates. High levels of inflation eat away at the underlying value of an individual's assets or even savings. Furthermore, if inflation is too low or negative (deflation), it will lead people not to currently spend, and this can cause a downward economic spiral. Why would people buy something today if they think it will be cheaper tomorrow?
Every month, inflation measures such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Purchasing Price Index (PPI) are assessed by traders and speculators to judge a country's inflation outlook.
Central banks use inflation targeting as they set interest rates. Higher inflation levels require higher interest rates to prevent continued price rises. Therefore, if one country has a higher level of inflation, it is likely that the interest rate will also need to be higher, which will also impact the currency’s value.
Gross Domestic Product
Economic growth is measured almost universally by changes in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Gross domestic product is a measure of the size and health of a country’s economy over a period of time (usually measured quarterly or yearly). It is also used to compare the size of different economies at different points in time. GDP is the most commonly used measure for the size of an economy. The GDP is the total of all value added created in an economy. Value added means the value of goods and services that have been produced minus the value of the goods and services needed to produce them. The biggest drivers for GDP calculation are:
Consumer spending: Also known as personal consumption expenditures, this is the measure of spending on goods and services by consumers.
Government spending: It’s everything that is spent from a government’s budget within a public sector on items such as education, healthcare, defence, and more, depending on the country.
Business investment: Any spending by private businesses and nonprofit companies on assets to produce goods and services is considered business investment.
Balance of trade: The difference in value between a country’s imports and exports is what constitutes the balance of trade. If exports exceed imports, the country is in a trade surplus. On the contrary, if imports exceed exports, it’s a trade deficit.
Homes
The data on homes is very important due to the sole reason that one of the main aims for most people in life is to own a home. Additionally, a home is most likely the most expensive item a person will ever buy. So most people will work hard for a large part of their lives to own one. Because of this, housing forms an important part of the worldwide GDP calculation, so if a country's housing data is strong, this tends to also show in the country's economic performance. The biggest drivers in housing data are:
Pending home sales: This number shows the number of home sales where a contract between the seller and the buyer has been signed.
Existing home sales: This number measures the number and value of transactions of existing homes that were sold in a given month.
New home sales: This number measures the new homes that were sold in a given month. In a strong economy, the number of new home sales tends to keep rising.
Employment
A country's employment rate is very important in gauging a country's economic strength. The reason is that employment is very important to a country's economic output. If people have jobs, they will spend money and contribute to economic growth.
If employment is low, companies will have a shortage of workers. This will lead to lower productivity and then lower company revenues, which will then lead to companies not being able to pay back loans and even fewer jobs being available because companies can no longer sustain themselves. Also, consumer spending will decrease, and the never-ending cycle continues.
The US Nonfarm Payroll employment figure is one of the most important figures that comes out on the first Friday of every month. The figure is an estimate of the number of payroll jobs at all nonfarm businesses and government agencies, the average number of hours worked per week, and the average hourly and weekly earnings. Because labour is an important economic factor of production, the unemployment rate is a good indicator of how closely economic output is to potential output, which measures economic efficiency. A falling unemployment rate is a good indicator of economic growth, while an increasing unemployment rate indicates economic decline.
Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Monetary policy is very important in fundamental analysis. Central banks vary in philosophy and economic stance; some central banks are 'hawkish, meaning that they prefer higher interest rates to encourage saving and investing, whereas others are 'dovish, meaning that they prefer lower interest rates to encourage consumer spending and borrowing. Economic data can help a central bank formulate its monetary policy, but there is another aspect to consider. Fiscal policy (government spending and taxation) is also relevant to the fundamental economic outlook of a country.
While governments and central banks tend to be independent, they are not mutually exclusive. The fiscal actions of a government can have implications for the central bank (for example, the response of the Bank of England to the unfunded spending cuts of the UK Government in September 2022). Therefore, politics are also important. The type of government ruling a country can affect its economic outlook and, more importantly, its perception of future prospects for the country’s economy. A government that favours high spending might be seen as fiscally irresponsible. However, if the view is that this will generate more growth and a larger economy, it might be viewed positively.
How fundamental analysis is used in forex trading
Fundamental analysis is widely used to generate potential bull and bear markets in forex trading. Technical analysts will discuss trends; however, the medium- and longer-term fundamental outlook mostly, if not all of the time, generates the source of those trends. Fundamental traders will generally position themselves according to where they see a big trend. There might be some near-term fluctuations within the trend that can be taken advantage of using technical analysis. However, broadly speaking, a currency will move in a particular direction due to an economy’s longer-term prospects and interest rates.
How traders perceive fundamental economic data is very important. On a longer-term basis, it is all about what the data means for the future outlook of the country's economy. Is a central bank on a path of raising or tightening interest rates? Does a country's government have to raise or cut taxes? Is consumer borrowing and spending too high?
For short-term trading, it is all about expectations. Day traders usually look at the economic data for their signals. How did the data perform relative to market expectations? Did it beat the consensus forecast? Fundamental traders will examine how data announcements compare to the market’s estimates. Better-than-expected data should drive a stronger currency; if the data is less than expected, it tends to lower its value.
Dangers when trading using fundamental analysis
Though fundamental analysis can be useful in predicting the direction of currency prices, there are dangers that you need to be aware of. First, important figures like the nonfarm payroll and interest rate announcements are extremely volatile and can wipe your account instantly if you end up on the wrong side of the market. Additionally, there are times when markets are 'priced in', meaning that the move has already happened in anticipation before the fundamental data or announcement; therefore, the market is already priced in, and the market tends to go the opposite way. For example, if traders have been strongly anticipating that a country's central bank will cut interest rates, they will short the markets all the way prior to the central bank actually confirming the interest rate cut, so now the market is priced in and the market will tend to go the other way due to those traders exiting their early short positions.
Forex fundamental analysis can sometimes be very complex and time-consuming. However, a general understanding of its principles will not only help you in your journey to finding consistency in the markets but will also improve your economic knowledge and awareness.
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