In this article, we will take a look at the 10 Worst Performing Currencies of 2024.
At the start of last year, traders were pricing in the likelihood of more than six Fed rate decreases. With inflationary pressures persisting and the possibility of increased US tariffs under the President, however, prospects for monetary easing have been dampened. Prior to President Trump’s inauguration, global equities markets rose steadily, and the US currency rose by more than 6.0% as investors looked forward to pro-growth measures. As things stand, investors expect no more than two Fed rate cuts this year—a dramatic contrast to the aggressive lowering cycle many had expected in 2024.
US – China Trade Wars
The initial weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term have been defined by out-of-hours policy declarations in the United States, which have rocked markets across the globe and left traders scrambling to manage their holdings. For example, on February 9, Trump told reporters that he would put 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, causing certain European and Asian companies’ shares to drop erratically. Interestingly, these developments have led to the US dollar and offshore Chinese renminbi currency pair, known as USD/CNH, to emerge as the second-most traded currency futures contract in recent months, trailing only the dollar’s pairing with the euro.
On February 5, the People’s Bank of China fixed the rate at Rmb7.169 per dollar, similar to the level before the more than weeklong lunar new year break, while Chinese stock markets fell. During the market shutdown, Trump imposed an additional 10% tax on Chinese exports, and Beijing responded with tariffs on their own on US energy exports and other items. The Trump administration has long been a critic of China for keeping its currency shaky in order to increase export competitiveness. An example of this was seen during Trump’s first term, where Beijing allowed the renminbi to decline to soften the impact of US tariffs on exports.
In terms of equities, China also rocked US markets at the end of January, disrupting the artificial intelligence craze that had erupted following the announcement by DeepSeek, a Chinese startup, that it had constructed a large language model capable of competing with US AI behemoths at a fraction of the cost. According to President Donald Trump, DeepSeek’s publication “should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win.” Separately, Trump stated that he intends to impose new taxes on computer chips manufactured overseas, a strategy that might provide additional issues for the US technology industry, which is highly reliant on chip manufacturing in Asia.
Global Forex Outlook
According to an IMARC Group analysis, the global foreign exchange market was worth $861 billion in 2024. Looking ahead, IMARC Group forecasts that the market will reach $1,535 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 6.64% between 2025 and 2033. To no one’s surprise, the United States dominates the Forex market, with the US dollar serving as the worldwide reserve currency. Not only does the currency account for over 88% of global forex transactions, making it the most traded currency in the world, but US economic indicators such as GDP growth, inflation, and employment data have a significant global impact on market sentiment and currency values, which is why economists around the world closely monitor every movement of the USD.
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Our Methodology
For our list of the 10 weakest currencies in the world in 2024, we analyzed each currency’s performance against the US dollar that year and ranked them according based on their depreciation. We also mentioned each currency’s intrinsic strength in relation to exchange rates. For the purpose of ranking, we utilized the most recent exchange rates for each currency against the US dollar.
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10. South African Rand
1 USD = 18.69 ZAR
2024 Returns: -3.7%
South Africa’s rand remained reasonably stable in 2024, with just minor losses. While several other currencies fell to all-time lows, the rand’s devaluation of just under 4% in 2024 stands out as relatively moderate. Notably, the rand fell sharply following US President Donald Trump’s election victory, but it quickly reversed direction. This see-saw of volatility with the rand lasted until the end of the year.
9. Euro
1 USD = 0.96 EUR
2024 Returns: -6.2%
Weak European economic growth is the primary reason the euro has struggled to regain its feet in recent years. The disparity in economic development on either side of the Atlantic Ocean has been striking, prompting money to flee the eurozone as the chances for asset returns appear better abroad. The Euro had another hard month following Trump’s election victory, plummeting to a four-month low of $1.07.
8. Swiss Franc
1 USD = 0.90 CHF
2024 Returns: -7.3%
Ideally, 2024 should have been a record year for the Swiss franc. Although the year began strongly, interest rates decreased throughout the summer. Falling interest rates, in tandem with wider gaps, made it difficult for the Swiss franc bond market to compete with other currencies. Additionally, in a bid to stimulate the economy, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) slashed its primary interest rate further by half a percentage point to 0.5% in December, the fourth decrease since March 2024, as inflation in the country slowed.
7. Canadian Dollar
1 USD = 1.44 CAD
2024 Returns: -7.9%
The Canadian dollar struggled through most of 2024, settling into a typical midrange until giving up in the fourth quarter and falling to multi-year lows versus the US dollar. Since the beginning of the year, the Canadian dollar’s value has fluctuated between $0.69 and $0.70, something not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020. Conditions that have led to the plummeting currency include instability in the federal government, federal budgetary deficits, worries about proposed tariffs by the Trump government, and a higher US dollar.
6. Australian Dollar
1 USD = 1.61 AUD
2024 Returns: -9.1%
Last year, there was an expectation that the Australian dollar would appreciate versus the US dollar. However, things didn’t exactly pan out that way, with the Australian dollar falling to new lows against the USD. The AUD plunged as low as 62 US cents, its lowest level since October 2022, while the ASX had one of its worst drops this year after the US Federal Reserve reduced interest rates by 0.25 percentage points in December. Interestingly enough, however, the AUD’s decline was primarily ascribed to the economic downturn in China, which is the country’s largest trade partner, accounting for 35% of Australian exports.
5. Japanese Yen
1 USD = 150.60 JPY
2024 Returns: -10.3%
The Japanese yen’s devaluation, which recently reached its lowest level in almost a half-century, has had a varied effect on the country’s economy, including higher import costs and fiscal issues, despite the Bank of Japan’s attempts to curb inflation. The BoJ has tightened monetary policy gently, eliminating negative rates on the uncollateralized overnight call rate in March 2024, raising the aim to 0.25% in July 2024 and 0.5% in January 2025. The change in July resulted in a 6% gain in the yen and a 12% decline in the stock market. Moreover, the weak yen boosted the prices of imported energy and food, raising the average family costs in 2024 by 90,000 yen ($590).
4. New Zealand Dollar
1 USD = 1.78 NZD
2024 Returns: -11.4%
Over the last three months, the New Zealand dollar has lost 5.6% against the US dollar, making it the weakest of the G-10 currencies. This reduction, along with rising oil costs, is putting upward pressure on tradable inflation. According to ANZ Bank New Zealand, inflation in the country is likely to rise further, led by a weaker currency and rising energy expenses. The bank expects headline inflation to reach 2.7% in the second half of 2025, up from 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024.
3. South Korean Won
1 USD = 1461.57 KRW
2024 Returns: -12.4%
Political instability has understandably done serious damage to the Korean won. Notably, the won fell to its lowest level in over 16 years versus the US dollar in mid-December, amid rising turmoil triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law order and subsequent impeachment. At the same time, as the US dollar’s value rose against the Korean won, an increasing number of investors began changing their dollar assets into Korean won to benefit. In the first 20 days of December, $213 million in dollar assets were converted into Korean won. The figure amounts to a daily average of $10.7 million, the largest since August 2023, when it was $18.4 million.
2. Russian Ruble
1 USD = 89.36 RUB
2024 Returns: -18.6%
The Russian ruble witnessed its steepest fall in the last week of November since the spring of 2022. In only two days, the ruble fell 10% against the US dollar. That brought the ruble down 20% since the beginning of September and over 25% from its summer highs. The November drop was triggered by US sanctions on Russian institutions, notably state-owned Gazprombank, the only major Russian state bank not sanctioned by Washington upto that point. Although the ruble has regained much ground since then, further appreciation or lasting stability will need a major decrease in geopolitical tensions and the easing of Western restrictions on Russian oil exports.
1. Brazilian Real
1 USD = 5.88 BRL
2024 Returns: -21.6%
The Brazilian real was the worst-performing global currency in 2024, plummeting to new lows against the US dollar as market fears mounted about a quickly expanding government deficit and chronically rising inflation. Despite Brazil’s central bank intervening on the last trading day of 2024 and spending $20 billion in reserves in December, the currency remains under pressure, with investors wary of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s capacity to control the country’s mounting budget deficit.
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