Extensive cross-border activities expose Avon to all kinds of effects brought about by volatile exchange rates. For example, in the mid 1980s, the dollar reached a peak in 1985. As the dollar rose to its 1985 peak, converting foreign earnings from weakening currencies into dollars reduced Avon’s profits. However, as the dollar fell between 1985 and 1987, conversion from strengthening currencies increased the profits from foreign markets. During the Asian crisis of 1997–8 and the Latin American currency crisis in the 1990s, sharp devaluations of currencies, such as the baht (Thailand), the peso (Mexico) and the real (Brazil), also hit Avon. Such volatile exchange rates forced Avon to introduce effective tools to reduce the risk of losses resulting from changes in exchange rates.