Dollar Drops to New All-Time Low Against Euro

[cal04]

The U.S. dollar dropped to a new all-time low against the euro Wednesday as the European currency rose to $1.3047 amid deep skepticism over Washington's commitment to a "strong dollar" policy.
Persistent worries over high oil prices and the U.S. trade and budget deficits have pushed the dollar to new depths against the 12-nation euro in recent weeks.

The latest rise came as U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow visits Europe. At the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, he refused to comment on the euro hitting a new high against the dollar.
Snow insisted that there had been no change in the administration's support for a strong dollar.


Still, many analysts believe the administration has decided to voice support for a strong dollar to avoid rattling currency markets but to refrain from intervening to halt the dollar's fall since a weaker dollar will help lower the U.S. trade deficit by helping American exports.

"There is no single event that set off this movement today," said Dorothea Huttanus, an economist at DZ Bank in Frankfurt. She cited persistent doubts over the health of the U.S. economy and added that "doubts about the strong dollar policy won't go away" despite Snow's statements. "The financial community doesn't believe him any more," Huttanus said.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB10EJEN1E.html

[BlueEyedSon]

1. Thanks, George!

$1USD = 77 euro cents

[sherilocks]

13. Kiss your European vactions goodby eom

[jamesinca]

2. This explains it right here

"Still, many analysts believe the administration has decided to voice support for a strong dollar to avoid rattling currency markets but to refrain from intervening to halt the dollar's fall since a weaker dollar will help lower the U.S. trade deficit by helping American exports."

He is hoping that the economy will pick up because it is living off of the table scraps of the world. Do as little as possible for the economy, do as little as possible to offend the corporations and make this a problem of the middle and lower class citizens. In an article that I saw here a few days back, Europeans and I believe some of the Asian countries have decided to not buy U.S. products unless there was no equivalent product out there. They are so disgusted with the U.S. as a country that they are informally boycotting U.S. products and the trade deficit is not shrinking. Which in turns drives the dollar down further and partially answers the question of why we need to work with other countries and why we need to care what they think and why we need to have things pass a global test.

[Art_from_Ark]

6. The weak dollar policy didn't help when Reagan tried it

In fact, it aggravated the trade deficit, because even then, the US had little to sell overseas, and even less that was competitive with locally produced products of its trading partners. At the same time, the quality imports that Americans had become accustomed to (like consumer electronics, which were almost all made overseas) merely became more expensive.

[leesa]

10. Do we have any exports besides military toys?

[cliss]

14. there's an angle they probably didn't think of.

I have read recently that the Bush administration is allowing the dollar to tank for exactly that reason -- cheaper goods from the US: "we'll buy". I know that John "Snowjob" Snow has been advocating a strong dollar policy, but he stood by and watched as the dollar tanked.

Since the dollar is the universal currency, there are so many things that could happen because of this that the Einsteins In Office never anticipated. I see this as hurting many countries, including the US. As usual, they've shown themselves to be single-issue policymakers and forget the rest.


Nowhere in their dreams do they anticipate people boycotting them. Interesting. Thanks.

[teryang]

3. Gold hits 16 year peak as dollar sags

http://www.reuters.com/financeMarketReportArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=JJUZ3Z3FHDUB4CRBAEOCFFA?type=goldMktRpt

Europe gold hits new 16-yr peak as dollar sags
Wed Nov 17, 2004 06:58 AM ET
<LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Gold registered its fourth successive 16-1/4 year peak in Europe on Wednesday, touching $444.60 an ounce as dollar weakness heightened the metal's allure for non-U.S. investors, dealers said.
The dollar fell to a record low against the euro at $1.3047 as worries mounted that a coming G20 finance ministers' meeting could do little to halt the currency's slide. <snip>


Gold is breaking through resistance.

[American Tragedy]

12. My aunt's ex-husband has been saying invest everything in gold

ever since * came into office.

[Zeebo]

4. Follow the money...

The weakening dollar and high oil prices are already starting a series of events that will effect every human on this earth. Most, if not all stems from Bush's failed radical neo-con imperialist policies. If you haven't read this rather lengthly essay, please do:

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/RRiraqWar.html

[pippin]

5. Foreign Investors

until 9/11 were helping to float our national debt. The L.A Times ran an article two days ago (can't find the online site) that since then and the war foreign countries are no longer investing in us. So here we are with a huge national debt and our dollar worth shit. I doubt the majority of Americans--especially the Bush brianed-- are aware of this economic angle. :-(

[madrchsod]

9. not as long as there`s another walmart opening

the american people are clueless about what is happening, and i for one don`t give a shit about them. they voted for this and they got what they wanted. i just wish i had bought euros at 80 cents instead of my 401 k funny money

[Atlant]

7. We really should "Date" the headline of these stories.

Otherwise, how can one tell today's "Dollar drops to new low against the Euro!" from yesterday's "Dollar drops to new low against the Euro!"?

Atlant

[lastliberalintexas]

15. LOL- that was my reaction too

I thought this thread was just a dupe until I clicked on it...

[indepat]

8. We the people have spoken: we gladly sacrifice the value of the dollar,

our economy, our standard of living, our liberty and the environment for all of these are but such small prices to pay to keep us safe.

[lastliberalintexas]

16. No, the sacrifice was made

to keep those queer folk from marrying! You didn't read the updated memo.

[htuttle]

11. "The financial community doesn't believe him any more," Huttanus said.

That's the problem with everything BushCo does. They think they can lie through their teeth forever. It might work with the brain-damaged 51% of Americans, since there is constant reinforcement from their televisions, but it doesn't play well overseas.

[SpecialK84]

17. Gee, Thanks.

I'm going to Paris this weekend (Yes, FRANCE ... I know, I'm a latte-sipping intellectual France catering liberal, gotta problem with that?) and I was excited to be somewhere with the Euro as opposed to the absolutely abysmal exchange rate with the pound (living in London for 3 months currently where it's about £1.85=$1.00). But NOOOO.

*sigh* I am going to be SO poor when I get home.

[DavidDvorkin]

18. If it were £1.85=$1.00

I'd be off to London lickety-split!

You meant it the other way around, of course.