Currency risk

The risk of losses or other adverse effects resulting from a change in a foreign exchange rate, or from other unfavourable changes in relation to a foreign currency.

Examples include:

• A final receipt/payment of a different amount of domestic currency equivalent, than expected when a currency transaction was committed to (transaction risk)
• A change in asset/liability values in a balance sheet, profit/loss in an income statement (translation risk)
• A change in competitiveness as rates change relative to buyers, suppliers or competitors (economic risk).

A more complex area of foreign exchange risk concerns contingent, or pre-transaction risk.

Also known as Currency exposure or Foreign exchange risk.

See also

• Contingent risk
• Cross-currency interest rate swap
• Currency
• Currency management
• Redenomination risk
• Pre-transaction risk
• Transaction exposure
• Translation exposure

Other links

Currency risk, Will Spinney, ACT 2009