Hard currency (also known as a safe-haven currency or strong currency), in economics, refers to a globally traded currency that is expected to serve as a reliable and stable store of value. Factors contributing to a currency's hard status might include the long-term stability of its purchasing power, the associated country's political and fiscal condition and outlook, and the policy posture of the issuing central bank.
Conversely, a soft currency indicates a currency which is expected to fluctuate erratically or depreciate against other currencies. Such softness is typically the result of political or fiscal instability within the associated country.
Many currencies are neither hard nor soft.
Read more about Hard Currency: In Search of Hard Currencies, Turmoil in Hard Currencies, Demand, Mixed Currencies
Famous quotes containing the words hard and/or currency:
“Opening a shop is easy; what’s hard is keeping it open.”
—Chinese proverb.
“One of the reforms to be carried out during the incoming administration is a change in our monetary and banking laws, so as to secure greater elasticity in the forms of currency available for trade and to prevent the limitations of law from operating to increase the embarrassment of a financial panic.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)