Indeed, this is exactly why countries choose to have flexible exchange rates – to help buffer the economy from shocks that cause this kind of divergence. We have seen ample evidence of this adjustment channel in recent months.
Resourceproducing countries with falling terms of trade, such as Canada, Australia and Mexico, have seen their currencies depreciate against countries that are net consumers of resources, such as the United States. It is not a coincidence that the Canadian dollar is about where it was back in 2003 and 2004; oil prices are also about where they were back then.