Atten Babler Meat FX Indexes – Apr ’15
U.S. dollar (USD) strength continued within the Atten Babler Commodities Meat Foreign Exchange (FX) Indexes during Mar ’15. The USD/Meat Exporter FX Index and USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index reached new record high values while the USD/Meat Importer FX Index declined slightly from the record high experienced in Feb ’15, but remained at the second highest figure on record.
USD/Meat Exporter FX Index:
The USD/Meat Exporter FX Index increased 5.3 points in Mar ’15 to a new high value of 147.5. The USD/Meat Exporter FX Index has increased 25.6 points since the beginning of 2014 and 19.8 points throughout the past six months. A strengthening USD/Meat Exporter FX Index reduces the competitiveness of U.S. meat relative to other exporting regions, ultimately resulting in less foreign demand, all other factors being equal. USD appreciation against the Brazilian real and Argentine peso has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014.
USD/Meat Importer FX Index:
The USD/Meat Importer FX Index declined 0.1 points in Mar ’15 from the record high experienced in Feb ’15 to a value of 107.8. The USD/Meat Importer FX Index remains at the second highest figure on record and has increased 28.0 points since the beginning of 2014 and 22.1 points throughout the past six months. A strengthening USD/Meat Importer FX Index results in less purchasing power for major meat importing countries, making U.S. meat more expensive to import. USD appreciation against the Russian ruble and Angolan kwanza has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014, although the ruble strengthened against the USD throughout Mar ’15, resulting in the MOM decline.
USD/Meat Domestic Importer FX Index:
The USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index increased 2.4 points in Mar ’15 to a new high value of 199.0. The USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index has increased 25.4 points since the beginning of 2014 and 18.8 points throughout the past six months. A strengthening USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index results in less purchasing power for the traditional buyers of U.S. meat, ultimately resulting in less foreign demand, all other factors being equal. USD appreciation against the Russian ruble, Mexican peso and Angolan kwanza has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014.