.forex-calc-wrapper {
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
max-width: 800px;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 20px;
background: #f9f9f9;
border: 1px solid #e0e0e0;
border-radius: 8px;
}
.forex-calc-header {
text-align: center;
margin-bottom: 25px;
}
.forex-calc-header h2 {
margin: 0;
color: #2c3e50;
}
.forex-grid {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr;
gap: 20px;
}
@media (max-width: 600px) {
.forex-grid {
grid-template-columns: 1fr;
}
}
.input-group {
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.input-group label {
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font-weight: 600;
color: #444;
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}
.input-group input {
width: 100%;
padding: 10px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
border-radius: 4px;
font-size: 1rem;
box-sizing: border-box;
}
.input-group .help-text {
font-size: 0.8rem;
color: #666;
margin-top: 4px;
}
.calc-btn {
width: 100%;
padding: 12px;
background-color: #2980b9;
color: white;
border: none;
border-radius: 4px;
font-size: 1.1rem;
cursor: pointer;
transition: background 0.3s;
margin-top: 10px;
}
.calc-btn:hover {
background-color: #2471a3;
}
.results-area {
margin-top: 25px;
padding: 20px;
background: white;
border: 1px solid #ddd;
border-radius: 6px;
display: none;
}
.result-row {
display: flex;
justify-content: space-between;
margin-bottom: 10px;
padding-bottom: 10px;
border-bottom: 1px solid #eee;
}
.result-row:last-child {
border-bottom: none;
margin-bottom: 0;
padding-bottom: 0;
}
.result-label {
font-weight: 500;
color: #555;
}
.result-value {
font-weight: 700;
color: #2c3e50;
}
.value-positive {
color: #27ae60;
}
.value-negative {
color: #c0392b;
}
.article-content {
margin-top: 40px;
line-height: 1.6;
color: #333;
}
.article-content h3 {
color: #2c3e50;
margin-top: 25px;
}
.article-content p {
margin-bottom: 15px;
}
.article-content ul {
margin-bottom: 15px;
padding-left: 20px;
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.article-content li {
margin-bottom: 8px;
}
Understanding Historical Exchange Rates
Analyzing the history of foreign currency exchange rates is essential for businesses involved in international trade, investors holding foreign assets, and travelers planning future trips. While exchange rates fluctuate every second based on global supply and demand, looking at historical data helps identify trends, support levels, and resistance points.
This calculator allows you to input a historical data point (a rate from the past) and compare it against a current or target rate. This comparison reveals the "unrealized gain or loss" on a specific amount of currency due to market fluctuations.
How to Interpret Rate Fluctuations
When analyzing the history of a currency pair (e.g., EUR/USD or GBP/JPY), the movement is defined by the appreciation or depreciation of the base currency against the quote (target) currency.
- Appreciation: If the rate moves from 1.10 to 1.15, the base currency has strengthened. Your base currency buys more of the target currency now than it did in the past.
- Depreciation: If the rate moves from 1.10 to 1.05, the base currency has weakened. Holding the base currency resulted in a loss of purchasing power relative to the target currency.
- Volatility: The speed and magnitude of these changes over a specific period define the market volatility, which represents risk for investors.
Why Historical Rates Matter for Accounting
For multinational corporations, recording transactions at the correct historical exchange rate is a regulatory requirement. When reconciling accounts at the end of a fiscal year, the difference between the historical rate (at the time of the transaction) and the closing rate (current rate) results in a foreign exchange gain or loss. This metric is crucial for accurate financial reporting and tax compliance.
Example Calculation
Consider a scenario where a business held 10,000 units of Currency A.
- Historical Rate: 1.50 (1 Unit A = 1.50 Unit B)
- Current Rate: 1.65 (1 Unit A = 1.65 Unit B)
- Calculation: The value increased from 15,000 Unit B to 16,500 Unit B.
- Result: A gain of 1,500 Unit B, representing a 10% appreciation in the asset's value relative to Currency B.
Using the calculator above, you can perform these specific historical comparisons to determine the exact financial impact of currency movements over any time period.
function calculateForexHistory() {
// 1. Get input values
var baseAmount = parseFloat(document.getElementById('baseAmount').value);
var historicalRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById('historicalRate').value);
var currentRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById('currentRate').value);
var feePercent = parseFloat(document.getElementById('transactionFee').value);
// 2. Validate inputs
if (isNaN(baseAmount) || isNaN(historicalRate) || isNaN(currentRate)) {
alert("Please enter valid numbers for Amount and Exchange Rates.");
return;
}
if (feePercent 0) {
pctElem.className = "result-value value-positive";
pctElem.innerText = "+" + pctElem.innerText;
} else if (rateChangePct 0) {
diffElem.className = "result-value value-positive";
diffElem.innerText = "+" + diffElem.innerText;
} else if (difference 0) {
verdictElem.innerText = "Gain in purchasing power";
verdictElem.style.color = "#27ae60";
} else if (difference < 0) {
verdictElem.innerText = "Loss in purchasing power";
verdictElem.style.color = "#c0392b";
} else {
verdictElem.innerText = "No change in value";
verdictElem.style.color = "#2c3e50";
}
// Show the results area
document.getElementById('resultsArea').style.display = "block";
}