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by dosinga·1y ago·view on hn ↗
The actual value of a currency is not all that relevant. The Japanese Yen is worth less than the Indian Rupee, but the cost of living in India is a lot lower.
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When talking about currencies being over or under valued, we're usually not referring to the value of 1 unit of each currency being equal, more the exchange rates themselves. See the Big Mac index for example, for a real life illustration. You can buy a Big Mac in the US for $X, and a Big Mac in India for INR Y, but $X doesn't necessarily buy you exactly INR Y in the market right now. Might buy you more or less, and if you're using the Big Mac as a standard you would say one of the currencies is over or under valued.
Currency exchange rates matter for tourism, buying foreign goods, foreign investment, working in a different country, businesses that rely on international trade, and so on. International trade matters in just about every country, as we can see in countries suffering from trade sanctions.