## The IMF Updates the Effective Exchange Rates Indices

_IMF News, March 26, 2019_

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**Canonical URL:** [The IMF Updates the Effective Exchange Rates Indices](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2019/03/26/pr1993-the-imf-updates-the-effective-exchange-rates-indices)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: March 26, 2019

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### Summary of changes
- On February 26, 2019, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published revised indices of nominal and real effective exchange rates (EER).
- Indices released in the International Financial Statistics reflect an update of the underlying trade-based weights and other methodological refinements.
- The revision benefited from consultations with selected stakeholders, including the Bank for International Settlements and the European Central Bank.

### Weight update methodology
- Previously based on fixed-base weights from 2004–06; the new indices use weights updated every three years starting in January 2004.
- New weights have been computed for 2007–09, 2010–12, and 2013–15; revised weights for 2004–06 have also been calculated to incorporate changes in the source data.
- Weights are calculated as three-year averages of annual data available from official sources on merchandise trade, tourism, and manufacturing collected from:
  - United Nations
  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  - World Bank
  - World Tourism Organization
  - United Nations Industrial Development Organization

### Expansion of trading partners
- Inclusion threshold for partner countries changed from 1 percent to 0.45 percent (trade-based weight).
- Pool of countries included in the new index calculation increased from 19 to 31.

### Time application and chaining
- New weights applied to corresponding three-year periods (example: 2004–06 weights from January 2004 to December 2006; 2007–09 weights from January 2007 to December 2009; etc.).
- A chained methodology is used, with the new series recalculated starting from January 2004.
- Prior to 2004, the old fixed-base indices are spliced to the new chained indices, with December used as the splicing period to link the weights.

### Availability and documentation
- The new methodology is described in Bayoumi et al. (2005), New Rates from New Weights, IMF Working paper 05/99.
- The weights underlying the effective exchange rate indices are available upon request; queries should be emailed to STA-EERWeights@imf.org.

*Press Release No. 16/93 — March 26, 2019; IMF Communications Department, MEDIA RELATIONS, PRESS OFFICER: Pemba Sherpa*

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## Content in this bundle

- [Wp0599 (PDF)](/external/pubs/ft/wp/2005/wp0599.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2019/03/26/pr1993-the-imf-updates-the-effective-exchange-rates-indices_