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This paper addresses whether exchange rates respond to changes in expectations of future U.S. monetary policy when no actual monetary policy changes occur. We employ data on Federal funds futures contracts for extracting a measure of policy expectations, control for the surprise element of macroeconomic news and policy developments, and analyze more than 12 years of daily exchange rate data. Our findings show that continuous day-to-day changes in expectations of future monetary policy are associated in a highly significant and systematic way with day-to-day changes in exchange rates even when no actual monetary policy changes occur. This suggests that monetary policy matters for daily exchange rate determination in more ways than merely through infrequent, actual policy changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the first to utilize the informational content embodied in Federal funds futures contracts for extracting day-to-day changes in expectations of future US monetary policy, in the context of a study of day-to-day exchange rate changes. We analyze more than 12 years of daily exchange rate data and show that continuous day-to-day changes in expectations of future US monetary policy has a significant and systematic impact on day-to-day changes in exchange rates. Our results imply that monetary policy matters for daily exchange rate determination in more ways than merely through infrequent, actual policy changes. Furthermore, when focusing on the actual monetary policy changes, the paper confirms that only the unexpected element of a policy change impacts exchange rates. The presented findings are generally consistent with market efficiency and the notion that exchange rates are forward-looking asset prices.