INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: An agency of the United Nations established in 1945 to monitor and stabilize foreign exchange markets. Close to 150 of the world's nations (which is just about all of them) belong to the IMF. The IMF was set up to keep countries from manipulating their exchange rates in such a way as to gain a competitive trading advantage over others. Their strategies of control have changed over the decades, but they currently use a managed float where exchange rates are allowed to fluctuate with changing market conditions, but only within certain ranges. The IMF also plays an active role in providing the "international" currency needed to participate in foreign trade through its system of Special Drawing Rights. See also | foreign exchange market | exchange rate | J curve | managed float | fixed exchange rate | floating exchange rate | foreign trade | Special Drawing Rights | World Bank | G-7 |
