Alex Wolf, of Standard Life Investments, says many emerging market currencies have fallen sharply over the past year, "acting as the key adjustment mechanism to changing global conditions". Collapsing commodity prices and weak global trade growth have affected emerging economies, with a clear distinction developing between commodity exporters and manufacturing exporters, which is especially evident in the currencies. Along with commodity prices, most countries have been affected by what Wolf called "idiosyncratic factors" that exacerbated currency weakness, such as sanctions in Russia, political scandal in Malaysia, security risks in Turkey, and political uncertainty and high inflation in Brazil.
