IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/91698.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Exchange Rate vs Foreign Price Pass-through: Evidence from the European Gasoline Market

Author

Listed:
  • Deltas, George
  • Polemis, Michael

Abstract

We show that European retail gasoline prices respond slower to changes in the dollar exchange rate than to changes in the international spot price of wholesale gasoline, which is quoted in dollars. This differential passthrough is not specific to the Euro, and is observed both for Euro-member states and also for those using national currencies. We examine the possibility that this pattern is driven by differences in either the variability and or persistence of exchange rates changes relative to those of the dollar price of gasoline, but find minimal supporting evidence for either. Refinery supply contracts treat changes in the dollar price and the exchange rate symmetrically, and are thus also an unlikely explanation. Other possibilities, such pricing to the market or pricing based on the country of origin are precluded by the nature of the product. There is evidence, however, that exchange rate fluctuations are more strongly correlated with country-specific economic conditions, which reduces the ability of firms to pass-through price increases and lessens their incentive to pass-through price decreases. Moreover, consumers likely draw a more direct link between the crude oil and retail gasoline prices, affecting their price expectations and search intensity, and optimal passthrough.

Suggested Citation

  • Deltas, George & Polemis, Michael, 2019. "Exchange Rate vs Foreign Price Pass-through: Evidence from the European Gasoline Market," MPRA Paper 91698, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:91698
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/91698/1/MPRA_paper_91698.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Auer, Raphael A. & Schoenle, Raphael S., 2016. "Market structure and exchange rate pass-through," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 60-77.
    2. Feenstra, Robert C., 1989. "Symmetric pass-through of tariffs and exchange rates under imperfect competition: An empirical test," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1-2), pages 25-45, August.
    3. Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Michael M. Knetter, 1997. "Goods Prices and Exchange Rates: What Have We Learned?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(3), pages 1243-1272, September.
    4. Elhanan Helpman & Paul Krugman, 1987. "Market Structure and Foreign Trade: Increasing Returns, Imperfect Competition, and the International Economy," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026258087x, December.
    5. Taylor, John B., 2000. "Low inflation, pass-through, and the pricing power of firms," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1389-1408, June.
    6. Matthew S. Lewis, 2011. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment and Consumer Search: An Examination of the Retail Gasoline Market," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 409-449, June.
    7. Jonathan McCarthy, 2007. "Pass-Through of Exchange Rates and Import Prices to Domestic Inflation in Some Industrialized Economies," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 511-537, Fall.
    8. Wing T. Woo, 1984. "Exchange Rates and the Prices of Nonfood, Nonfuel Products," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 15(2), pages 511-536.
    9. Peter Hooper & Catherine L. Mann, 1989. "Exchange Rate Pass-through in the 1980s: The Case of U.S. Imports of Manufactures," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 20(1), pages 297-337.
    10. Jiawen Yang, 1997. "Exchange Rate Pass-Through In U.S. Manufacturing Industries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(1), pages 95-104, February.
    11. Paul Krugman, 1986. "Pricing to Market when the Exchange Rate Changes," NBER Working Papers 1926, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Devereux, Michael B. & Yetman, James, 2010. "Price adjustment and exchange rate pass-through," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 181-200, February.
    13. Hahn, Elke, 2003. "Pass-through of external shocks to euro area inflation," Working Paper Series 243, European Central Bank.
    14. Campa, Jose Manuel & Gonzalez Minguez, Jose M., 2006. "Differences in exchange rate pass-through in the euro area," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 121-145, January.
    15. George Deltas, 2008. "Retail Gasoline Price Dynamics And Local Market Power," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 613-628, September.
    16. Choudhri, Ehsan U. & Faruqee, Hamid & Hakura, Dalia S., 2005. "Explaining the exchange rate pass-through in different prices," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 349-374, March.
    17. Michael Polemis, 2012. "Competition and price asymmetries in the Greek oil sector: an empirical analysis on gasoline market," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 789-817, October.
    18. Bhattacharya, Prasad S. & Karayalcin, Cem A. & Thomakos, Dimitrios D., 2008. "Exchange rate pass-through and relative prices: An industry-level empirical investigation," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(7), pages 1135-1160, November.
    19. Meyler, Aidan, 2009. "The pass through of oil prices into euro area consumer liquid fuel prices in an environment of high and volatile oil prices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 867-881, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Chaoyi & Polemis, Michael & Stengos, Thanasis, 2019. "Can exchange rate pass-through explain the asymmetric gasoline puzzle? Evidence from a pooled panel threshold analysis of the EU," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1-12.
    2. Chen, Chaoyi & Polemis, Michael & Stengos, Thanasis, 2018. "On the Examination of Competition in the Petroleum Industry: A Pooled Panel Threshold Analysis," MPRA Paper 89671, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Martins Bitans, 2004. "Pass-Through of Exchange Rates to Domestic Prices in East European Countries and the Role of Economic Enviroment," Working Papers 2004/04, Latvijas Banka.
    4. Nidhaleddine Ben Cheikh & Christophe Rault, 2016. "Recent estimates of exchange rate pass-through to import prices in the euro area," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 152(1), pages 69-105, February.
    5. Konopczak, Karolina, 2019. "Can inaction account for the incomplete exchangerate pass-through? Evidence from threshold ARDL model," MF Working Papers 37, Ministry of Finance in Poland.
    6. Jonathan McCarthy, 2007. "Pass-Through of Exchange Rates and Import Prices to Domestic Inflation in Some Industrialized Economies," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 511-537, Fall.
    7. Raphael A. Auer, 2015. "Exchange Rate Pass‐Through, Domestic Competition, and Inflation: Evidence from the 2005–08 Revaluation of the Renminbi," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(8), pages 1617-1650, December.
    8. Mallick, Sushanta & Marques, Helena, 2010. "Data frequency and exchange rate pass-through: Evidence from India's exports," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 13-22, January.
    9. Antonia López-Villavicencio & Valérie Mignon, 2020. "Exchange rate pass-through to import prices: accounting for changes in the eurozone trade structure," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 156(4), pages 835-858, November.
    10. Mirdala, Rajmund, 2015. "Exchange Rate Pass-Through in the Euro Area," MPRA Paper 68862, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Mirdala, Rajmund, 2013. "Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Domestic Prices under Different Exchange Rate Regimes," MPRA Paper 53209, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Oluwasheyi Oladipo, 2017. "Inflation targeting and exchange rate pass-through to domestic prices: evidence from South Africa," Journal of Economic and Financial Studies (JEFS), LAR Center Press, vol. 5(5), pages 1-11, October.
    13. Dr. Jonas Stulz, 2007. "Exchange rate pass-through in Switzerland: Evidence from vector autoregressions," Economic Studies 2007-04, Swiss National Bank.
    14. José Romero, 2013. "¿Es posible utilizar el tipo de cambio para hacer más competitiva la economía mexicana?," Serie documentos de trabajo del Centro de Estudios Económicos 2013-10, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos.
    15. Mallick, Sushanta & Marques, Helena, 2012. "Pricing to market with trade liberalization: The role of market heterogeneity and product differentiation in India’s exports," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 310-336.
    16. Mohammadi Khyareh , Mohsen, 2017. "Asymmetric Effects of Exchange Rate Changes in Iran," Journal of Money and Economy, Monetary and Banking Research Institute, Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, vol. 12(3), pages 317-344, July.
    17. Sushanta Mallick & Helena Marques, 2008. "Passthrough of Exchange Rate and Tariffs into Import Prices of India: Currency Depreciation versus Import Liberalization," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 765-782, September.
    18. Ozkan, Ibrahim & Erden, Lutfi, 2015. "Time-varying nature and macroeconomic determinants of exchange rate pass-through," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 56-66.
    19. Jeffrey Frankel & David Parsley & Shang-Jin Wei, 2012. "Slow Pass-through Around the World: A New Import for Developing Countries?," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 213-251, April.
    20. Barhoumi, Karim, 2006. "Differences in long run exchange rate pass-through into import prices in developing countries: An empirical investigation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 926-951, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Price Adjustment; Inflation; Gasoline Pricing.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:91698. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.