Does Artificial Neural Network Forecast Better for Excessively Volatile Currency Pairs?
This study predicts the exchange rates for three currency pairs (USD-INR, GBP-INR, and EUR-INR). We have used multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural network architecture based on feed-forward with back-propagation learning method. The sample of the study covers daily data for the period from January 2009 to January 2016. The findings of the study confirm that the neural network predicts better for more volatile currency pairs (GBP-INR and EUR-INR) as compared to a less volatile currency pair (USD-INR). The study further observes that the optimal forecast horizon for the neural network model should be equal to the optimal lag length used in the construction of the model. This study aims to contribute in the area of foreign exchange forecasting. Exchange rate plays a crucial role in the macro-economy of a country. Hence, prediction of currency exchange rate becomes imperative for various stakeholders such as government, the central bank, and investors to maximize the returns and minimize the risk in their decision-making.