The Dollar had been doing well against the Euro this week but it's getting whacked today. It looks like the exchange rate is going to be pretty bad this year again, and probably worse in the next few years. Is everyone discouraged, or will we still travel like always - but just try to save a little more with cheaper flights and hotels etc.

I don't think I'll be able to stay away from Europe. Just look for cheap flights/hotels and NO SHOPPING!

I see travel to Europe the same way I see coffee and chocolate. There are some things I must have regardless of the cost. There are worse addictions.

Where are you getting your exchange rate, whitey? Here's what oanda.com is reporting, which isn't much different from yesterday. Whacked? Not according to Oanda.

Friday, April 15, 2005
1 US Dollar = 0.78027 Euro
1 Euro (EUR) = 1.28160 US Dollar (USD)

I use www.XE.com

What everybody seems to forget...the original value of the euro was pegged to be about $1.17= €1...what was abnormal when it sank to $0.87 or so....as it stands it is only about 9% above where it was pegged to start so to keep saying the USD is getting "killed" is a bit of an overstatement.

Would I be happier if the USD were valued more against the euro. from a travelling view point, of course.

But it will be interesting to see what will happen when the newly admitted eu countries begin using the euro.

In the interim, this is what it is. If you want to travel, you live with it and deal with it.

P_M: Well said! I am in total agreement. Also, IMPOSSIBLE not to shop in Europe. Life was meant to be lived...

When we first started booking hotels, it was about $1.35 per Euro; now it's around $1.28 or $1.29.

So for every E 1000 spent in Italy, it's either about $1280 or $1300, or $1350. -- I'd like the extra $50-$70., but it's not quite enough to keep me home.

(And there's something to be said for calculating bills, tips, etc., in Euros instead of lire.)

Just glad we're not buying gas for a car there!

The Dollar is down 1% for the day, but more important is that it's mini rally against the Euro seems defeated. I guess gone are the days of 1.3 Euros for every dollar. Wish I would have stocked up on them when I had the chance...

I don't pay attention to exchange rates, any more than I do politics. It just is what it is. No I won't try to save with cheaper flights and hotels. I will travel the same as I always do, which is modest anyway.

Yes, but when $ was at 1.3 euro, financial experts were predicting 1.5 euro soon. It's very difficult to second-guess the market.

I don't know but my thoughts are what goes around comes around. So it goes

True, the euro is doing well against the dollar. That's great for US export. The highly socialized EU econmy may well go the way of Japan, but in any case, Europe remains a great trade partner that buys a phenonemal amount of US production.

CHEERS!

foreign exchange (forex) is an extremely liquid and volatile market. there's so much that impacts currencies that nobody has it right. keep track of france, germany, spain, belgium et al; keep tabs on the us economy in relation to each and the eu on the whole; earn a phd in economics; and then you may have a chance (remote albeit) to even have an educated guess.

for fun, the EuroDollar trades down to the ten thousandths of a unit (1.2805), so watch a days trading and enjoy a wild ride of .0085; that's a good amount of money there.

seriously, if you're spending $$$ on a trip then you shouldn't be too worried about $100.

The "EuroDollar?" Is that the right name? I thought it was called the European Monetary Unit, or euro for short.

I learned in school that the EuroDollar is when you have a foreign bank account in US$ denominations, and it doesn't have to be in Europe.

The name of the currency is of course the euro...eurodollar is something that was once used in foreign exchange circles but never made its way into the actual physical currency. I never can understand where people get that expression from.

Eurodollars are about as common as pounddollars, yendollars, pesodollars, and in the old days -- francdollars and liradollars.

But to make you feel better there is such a thing as a eurocent!

I was going thru some of our travel stuff the other day and found 65 Euro my husband had tucked in his passport wallet after our trip in 2002. I think the Euro and Dollar were about 1 to 1 then. I found myself wishing it was a whole lot more!

Eurodollar:
In finance, US currency deposited outside the USA and held by individuals and institutions, not necessarily in Europe. Eurodollars originated in the 1960s when East European countries deposited their US dollars in West European banks. Banks holding Eurodollar deposits may lend in dollars, usually to finance trade, and often redeposit with other foreign banks. The practice is a means of avoiding credit controls and exploiting interest rate differentials.

sigh
Source: Tiscali

The dollar has actually remained pretty stable against the euro over the past two years.....of course that's the Australian dollar.