Japanese yen in the context of "Free-floating currency"

In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of the euro.

The exchange rate is also regarded as the value of one country's currency in relation to another currency. For example, an interbank exchange rate of 141 Japanese yen to the United States dollar means that ¥141 will be exchanged for US$1 or that US$1 will be exchanged for ¥141. In this case it is said that the price of a dollar in relation to yen is ¥141, or equivalently that the price of a yen in relation to dollars is $1/141.

A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes, coins,electronic balances in bank accounts, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use within a specific environment over time, especially for people in a nation state. Under this definition, the Pound sterling (£), euro (€), Japanese yen (¥), and U.S. dollars (US$) are examples of (government-issued) fiat currencies. Currencies may act as stores of value and be traded between nations in foreign exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are either chosen by users or decreed by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance; i.e., legal tender laws may require a particular unit of account for payments to government agencies.

Other definitions of the term currency appear in the respective synonymous articles: banknote, coin, and money. This article uses the definition which focuses on the currency systems of countries (fiat currencies).

A reserve currency is a foreign currency that is held by governments, central banks or other monetary authorities as part of their foreign exchange reserves. The reserve currency can be used in international transactions, international investments and all aspects of the global economy. It is often considered a hard currency or safe-haven currency.

The United Kingdom's pound sterling was the primary reserve currency of much of the world in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. However, by the middle of the 20th century, the United States dollar had become the world's dominant reserve currency.

Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally, often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling.

Sterling is the world's oldest currency in continuous use since its inception. In 2022, it was the fourth-most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen. Together with those three currencies and the renminbi, it forms the basket of currencies that calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights. As of late 2022, sterling is also the fourth most-held reserve currency in global reserves.

The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. By trading volume, it is by far the largest market in the world, followed by the credit market.

The main participants are the larger international banks. Financial centres function as anchors of trading between a range of multiple types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends. As currencies are always traded in pairs, the market does not set a currency's absolute value, but rather determines its relative value by setting the market price of one currency if paid for with another. Example: 1 USD is worth 1.1 Euros or 1.2 Swiss Francs etc. The market works through financial institutions and operates on several levels. Behind the scenes, banks turn to a smaller number of financial firms known as "dealers", who are involved in large quantities of trading. Most foreign exchange dealers are banks, so this behind-the-scenes market is sometimes called the "interbank market". Trades between dealers can be very large, involving hundreds of millions of dollars. Because of the sovereignty issue when involving two currencies, Forex has little supervisory entity regulating its actions. In a typical foreign exchange transaction, a party purchases some quantity of one currency by paying with some quantity of another currency.

Foreign exchange reserves, also called Forex reserves, in a strict sense, are foreign-currency deposits held by nationals and monetary authorities. However, in popular usage and in the list below, it also includes gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and IMF reserve position because this total figure, which is usually more accurately termed as official reserves or international reserves or official international reserves, is more readily available and also arguably more meaningful. These foreign-currency deposits are the financial assets of the central banks and monetary authorities that are held in different reserve currencies (e.g., the U.S. dollar, the euro, the pound sterling, the Japanese yen, the Indian rupee, the Swiss franc, and the Chinese renminbi) and which are used to back its liabilities (e.g., the local currency issued and the various bank reserves deposited with the Central bank by the government or financial institutions). Before the end of the gold standard, gold was the preferred reserve currency.

Foreign-exchange reserves is generally used to intervene in the foreign exchange market to stabilize or influence the value of a country's currency. Central banks can buy or sell foreign currency to influence exchange rates directly. For example, if a currency is depreciating, a central bank can sell its reserves in foreign currency to buy its own currency, creating demand and helping to stabilize its value. High levels of reserves instill confidence among investors and traders. If market participants believe that a country has sufficient reserves to support its currency, they are less likely to engage in speculative attacks that could lead to a sharp depreciation. In times of economic uncertainty or financial market volatility, central banks can use reserves to smooth out fluctuations in the exchange rate, reducing the impact of sudden capital outflows or shocks to the economy. Adequate reserves ensure that a country can meet its international payment obligations, which helps maintain a stable exchange rate by preventing panic in the foreign exchange market. Having substantial reserves allows central banks to implement monetary policies more effectively. They can afford to maintain interest rates or engage in other measures without the immediate fear of depleting reserves, which can influence market expectations positively.

The yen and yuan sign (¥) is a currency sign used for the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan currencies when writing in Latin scripts. This character resembles a capital letter Y with a single or double horizontal stroke. The symbol is usually placed before the value it represents, for example: ¥50, or JP¥50 and CN¥50 when disambiguation is needed. When writing in Japanese and Chinese, the Japanese kanji or Chinese character is written following the amount, for example 50円 in Japan, and 50元 or 50圆 in China.
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