A recent spate of currency devaluations has highlighted the intense pressure on many emerging economies, as the strength of the US dollar forces them to spend precious foreign reserves supporting their exchange rates.
Egypt, Pakistan and Lebanon all abandoned longstanding policies of pegging their currencies to the dollar in January. With the US currency remaining historically strong despite falling back slightly since October, economists and investors warn that a further slew of emerging and frontier markets may be forced to succumb to market forces and follow suit.
“There is a compelling case for them to seize the day,” said Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, saying that Ukraine, Nigeria and Argentina are among economies likely to see their currency pegs come under pressure, particularly if an escalation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reignites inflationary pressures leading to higher borrowing costs in the developed world and further gains for the dollar.