Draw the graph · Macro · Foreign exchange market

The Fed buys dollars

Quantity of the currencyExchange rate0DSE₀
Ddemand for the currency
—
Ssupply of the currency
—

Drag a curve sideways, or use its arrows. A curve you do not move is a curve you are saying stays put. Make each shift clear enough that a reader could see it.

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Demand for the currency shifts right. Supply of the currency stays put.

The central bank enters the market as a buyer. Its purchases add to the demand for dollars at every exchange rate, so demand shifts right. The supply of dollars from private sellers is unchanged. The dollar appreciates.

The dollar appreciates against the euro and more dollars are traded.

Common mistake. A common error is to shift the supply of dollars left because 'the Fed is taking dollars out of the market.' The Fed takes them out by buying them, and a buyer is on the demand side.

More foreign exchange market prompts

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Lesson: Exchange Rate Regimes & the Impossible Trinity

Every prompt here is one shift. The course chains them: a lesson on why the curve moves, a graded drawing, and spaced review that brings back the shifts you get wrong.