Muted Real Effective Exchange Rate Movements in the First Quarter of 2026   

Real Effective Exchange Rates, Country Data, March 2026

Contributors: Andrew Baer, Emmanuel Manolikakis, and Huong Lan Vu

After experiencing substantial movements in 2025, the currencies of the world’s largest trading economies saw more muted movements in the first quarter of 2026, as reflected in their real effective exchange rates (REERs). REERs measure a country’s currency value against a basket of trading partners’ currencies, adjusted for relative inflation.

Over the first three months of 2026, the U.S. dollar REER and the euro REER moved by less than 1%, with a slight depreciation of the U.S. dollar REER of 0.6% and a 0.6% appreciation of the euro REER. The depreciation of the yen REER was more marked, at 3.1%, while the renminbi REER appreciated by 1.4%. This contrasts with the large currency adjustments experienced in 2025 where quarterly movements ranged between 6.5% and -4.5% throughout 2025, as reported in our last data brief.

Notes: The REER statistics are based on year-over-year percentage changes of monthly indices. The IMF disseminates REERs for 93 countries monthly, approximately 1 month following the reference period.  An increase in the value of the REER measures an appreciation of the currency against its trading partners. A decrease in REER indicates a depreciation.

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