Headline for .     Since the beginning of 2018, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, currencies around the world are generally down against the United States dollar.     
World Currency Observer
World Currency Observer

Exchange Rates: one year high and low

March 2, 2026 (see March 18 update below). Next update: April 2, 2026. Visit Search to look at past issues of World Currency Observer (brochure edition).

Caribbean and Central America currencies were generally up in February, including a 4% rise in the Costa Rica colón against the US$, and a 4.75% rise in the Dominican Republic peso -the Jamaica dollar moved up slightly. Among South America currencies, the Argentina peso was up by 2% against the US$ and the Paraguay guarani was up by 3.5%. On the other hand, after a sharp rise in January, the Chile peso was down by 1% against the US$ in February - the Colombia peso was down by 2.25% on the month. The Brazil peso was up by 2% during February against the US dollar. The Euro showed a net weakening of 0.5% in February against the US$, with similar downward movement in most other Europe currencies -the United Kingdom pound and the Sweden krona were both down by around 2% against the US$ in February. The Poland zloty fell by 1.75% against the US$ in February 2026, and the Türkiye lira was down by 1%. The Russia rouble was down by 2% against the US$ in February, and up by 12% since this time last year. The Kazakhstan tenge was up by 0.75% against the US$ in February. The Iran riyal was down by 12.75% against the US$ in February (before the United States military action), and was down by a little more than 100% since this time last year. The Egypt pound was down by 2.5% against the US$ in February, and is up by 5.5% since this time last year. Feb 28 26March 1. 2026. The Madagascar (Malagasy) ariary was up by 2.5% in February 2026 against the US$, and the Malawi kwacha was up by 1.5%. The Ghana cedi was up by nearly 3% against the U$ in February, and the Nigeria shilling was up by 1.25% (up by 9.25% since this time last year). The Sudan pound was down by 3% in February against the US$. The Democratic Republic of the Congo franc was up by 3.25% against the US$ in February, and up by nearly 25% since this time last year. The China yuan strengthed by 1.25% against the US$ in February 2026, the Phillipines peso was up by 1.5%, the India rupeewas up by 1% against the US$ and Malaysia ringitt was up by 1.25% (among these currencies, just the India rupee is weaker than it was this time last year). After a month of ups-and-downs in February, the Japan yen showed a 1% decline on the month against the USS, and is down 3.5% since this time last year. The Afghanistan afghani was up 3% in February against the USS, and is up 13% since this time last year. World cocoa and coffee (arabica) US$ prices continued, in February 2026, the sharp fall from the peaks reached In November 2025 - cocoa is down by around 50% since then, and coffee (arabica) prices are down nearly 30%. Gold and silver prices fell in the early part of February and then rose in the last part of the month, with gold prices reaching a new peak of around US$ 5225 per oz - silver prices are still below their end-of-January 2026 peaks. Oil prices are expected to rise in the week ahead due to the impact of military action in Iran - oil prices were up by 3.5% in February 2026.

The Ghana cedi has performed strongly over the last year (the leading Africa currency against the US$ in 2025, in a year when many world currencies performed strongly against the US$), widely recognized for its strong fiscal policy and good performance among its exports, such as gold exports (Ghana has benefited from the strong increase in the price of gold) and its position as one of the leading exporters of cocoa (whose price has recently fallen, but which was strong throughout 2025). Currency aspects that Ghana has to deal with include continued concern about dollarisation, including the fact that for cocoa and for many other exports (one other significant example which is receiving a great deal of attention is basket weaving for export among hundreds of thousands of Ghana households), Ghana has many small producers whose product prices in world markets are periodically set (by government and non-government agencies) in US dollars, and which government regulations require be converted into cedi (as part of measures intended to bolster the use of the cedi within the country, reducing dollarization). The strength of the cedi against the US$ in 2025 led to a situation where US dollar receipts meant a drastic drop in cedi receipts among small producers, to the point where many small producers (particularly in what Ghana defines as the Non-Traditional Export sector) did not have enough cedis to cover production expenses. It appears to be widely recognized that, while the strength of the Ghana cedi has contributed to the problem, the solution will have to based on a broader approach (such as adjusting the US$ prices of NTE goods and services), and also that many other countries are dealing with the same issues.

Ghana cedi 2025 and 2026.png

March 18, 2026 update

The purchase and sale of foreign exchange comprises, by far, the world's largest market and involves every country and political entity in the world. Foreign exchange transactions are driven by a variety of motives, historically having started with the cross-border purchase/sale of goods and services, and including cash borrowing/lending transactions, the purchase/sale of debt and equity instruments (including derivatives), and cash remittances by private, business and government agents. Every foreign exchange transaction involves, in principle, the delivery of one currency by the buyer to the seller of the other currency, followed by the subsequent delivery of the other currency to the buyer (or someone designated by the buyer) by the seller of the other currency. The cathartic incident that took place in 1974, with the sudden collapse of the Herstatt Bank (not a particularly big bank at that time), led to a worldwide increase in concern for foreign exchange settlement risk, as Herstatt had collected payment for foreign exchange transactions from the buyers of foreign currencies, but went bankrupt (declared insolvent) before it could deliver the foreign currencies (i.e., could not settle the transactions). One clear solution to foreign exchange settlement risk was to find a way (which came to be known as PvP) so that each buying transaction and the connected selling transaction are settled simultaneously, involving a financial institution in between the foreign exchange buyer and seller, often called a clearing bank. PvP has increased, but is still far from involving every currency or country (is actually viewed as having fallen in its share of foreign exchange settlements), to the extent that, in a speech earlier in March 2026, the governor of the Bank of England noted that "[while] some cross-border payments are very efficient, there can be no doubt that, overall, cross-border payments are slow and expensive, especially when compared to increasingly effective domestic payments…The emphasis on safety and security also serves as a reminder that, sadly, developments since 2020 underline the increasing sophistication of threats from criminal actors." The considerations which must be taken into account include: differing languages and time zones, country differences in financial institution practices, and in financial market structures, and in the types of transactions that are being paid for (such as those for securities, which also have underlying time-until-settlement requirements and other compliance issues). And, within the PVP world, the push is on for greater efficiencies, such as stacking transactions to reduce back-and-forth foreign exchange flows (changing gross flows into net flows). Lastly, a longer term issue is the role of the United States dollar, which is on one side or the other of most currency transactions, and whose role is expected to continue.

(World Currency Observer will next be updated on April 2, 2026. Visit Search to look at past issues of World Currency Observer (brochure edition). For permission-to-quote enquiries, e-mail World Currency Observer at WCO@briargreen.com.)