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Technical trading and the volatility of exchange rates

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  • Christian Bauer
  • Bernhard Herz

Abstract

The microeconomic structure of foreign exchange markets can cause excessive volatility in flexible exchange rate regimes. The market entry of chartists changes the composition of the foreign exchange market and leads to excessive volatility. Our chartist model predicts a continuum of equilibria and a U-shaped relation between exchange rate volatility and the measured trend, which is supported by the empirical evidence. The data show a positive nonlinear relation between trend and volatility as predicted by the model. In such a situation monetary policy may be able to smooth the exchange rate without changing macroeconomic fundamentals.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Bauer & Bernhard Herz, 2004. "Technical trading and the volatility of exchange rates," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(4), pages 399-415.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:quantf:v:4:y:2004:i:4:p:399-415
    DOI: 10.1080/14697680400008650
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    Cited by:

    1. Xing Gao & Daniel Ladley, 2022. "Noise trading and market stability," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(13-15), pages 1283-1301, October.
    2. Jackson, Antony & Ladley, Daniel, 2016. "Market ecologies: The effect of information on the interaction and profitability of technical trading strategies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 270-280.
    3. Ying-Sing Liu, 2021. "The Impact of Trading Information Sets on Exchange Rate Change and Volatility: Evidence From Taiwan," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(4), pages 21582440211, November.
    4. Gilles Zumbach, 2010. "Volatility conditional on price trends," Quantitative Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 431-442.

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