January 18, 2015 by T. KUNAL in NEWS

When it comes to the decision of whether you should buy or sell dollars, it all boils down to how the economy is performing. A strong economy will attract investment from all over the world due to the perceived safety and the ability to achieve an acceptable rate of return on investment. Investors always seek out the highest yield that is predictable or safe. Investment from abroad creates a strong capital account and a resulting high demand for dollars. (Learn about the basics of technical analysis in currency trading with our Forex Walkthrough . )

On the other hand, American consumption that results in the importing of goods and services from other countries causes dollars to flow out of the country. If our imports are greater than our exports. we will have a deficit in ourcurrent account. With a strong economy, a country can attract foreign capital to offset the trade deficit. The U.S. can continue as the consumption engine that fuels all the world economies even though its a debtor nation that borrows this money to consume. This also allows other countries to export to the U.S. and thus keep their economies growing. This explanation is simplistic, but it illustrates a point. (Learn more about how a countrys current account reflects the countrys economic health in Understanding The Current Account In The Balance Of Payments .)

Factors Affecting Dollar Value

Supply Versus Demand for Dollars

When we export products or services, we create a demand for dollars because our customers need to pay for our goods and services in dollars and, therefore they will have to convert their local currency into dollars. Hence they sell their currency to buy dollars so that they can make the payment.

In addition, when the U.S. government or large American corporations issuebonds to raise capital, and if these bonds are bought by foreigners then again the bonds have to be paid for in dollars and the customer will have to sell their local currency to buy dollars so they can effect payment. Also, if there is strong growth in the U.S. and companies are expanding their earnings then the desire by foreigners to own corporate stocks in the U.S. also requires that they sell their currency to buy dollars to pay for the purchase of stocks.

Sentiment and Market Psychology

But what if the U.S. economy weakens and consumption slows due to increasing unemployment? Then the U.S. is confronted with the possibility that foreigners may sell their bonds or stocks and return the cash from the sale in order to return to their local currency. Hence they sell the dollars and buy back their local currency.

Technical Factors

As traders, we have to gauge whether the supply of dollars will be greater or less than the demand for dollars. To help us determine this, we need to pay attention to various news and event items, such as the release by the government of various statistics, such as payroll data. GDP data. and other market and economy measuring information that can help us to determine what is happening in the economy and to estimate whether the economy is strengthening or weakening. (For a comprehensive overview of 24 major indicators, take a look at ourEconomic Indicators Tutorial .)

In addition, we need to determine the general sentiment regarding what the players in the market think the outcome of events is likely to be. Very often, sentiment will drive the market rather than the fundamentals of supply and demand. To add to this mix of prognostication, besides the measurement of supply and demand factors and sentiment, we also have the historical patterns generated by seasonal factors, support and resistance levels, technical indicators and so on. Many traders believe that these patterns are repetitive and therefore can be used to predict future movements. (Learn about the basics of technical analysis in our Technical Analysis Tutorial . )

Bringing Them All Together

One of the roles of the government is to create the conditions necessary to allow the markets to grow so that is the economy is as close to full employment as possible, but with controlled inflation. Thus when the economy deflates the government will try to do all it can to re-inflate it in a controlled manner.

The Bottom Line

It may be helpful for a trader to keep an eye on the Dollar Index chart to provide an overview of how the dollar fares against the other currencies in the index. By watching the patterns on the chart and listening to the sentiment in the market, as well as monitoring the major fundamental factors that affect supply and demand, a trader can develop a big picture sense of the flow of dollars and thus develop an insight to choose profitable positions in future trades.