http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3303549.stm
The dollar has hit a series of historic lows against just about every currency. But the reasons behind the falls are not obvious. BBC News Online explains.
How low has the dollar fallen?
It's breaking all sorts of records.
The pound is way out in front, and is currently at an 11-year high.
The euro boasts an all-time high, but it has only existed since 1999; elsewhere in Europe, the Swiss franc is at its strongest since 1996, and the Swedish krona and Norwegian kronor have hit post-1997 highs.
The yen, meanwhile, held in check by Japan's central bank, can only manage a 41-month high, touching levels last seen in late 2000.
The euro, the currency that everyone seems to be watching most closely, has now gained 16.5% against the dollar this year alone, and fully 45% since its historic low of 84 US cents in July 2001.
What's behind all this?
The US economy is pretty perky at the moment, growing by more than 8% at the last count.
But this has produced a curious effect.
As US growth outpaces the global average, its consumers pull in ever more imports, and the country needs to borrow to finance the trade and current-account deficits that result.
Globally, goods and services flow into the US, while cash flows out, producing a constant pressure on the value of the greenback.
US interest rates are at a 45-year low of 1%, scarcely a great lure for the international flows of capital that govern exchange rates.
And Washington's once-ironclad commitment to a strong dollar seems to have waned, perhaps because politicians realise that America stands to gain from having a weaker currency.
What have the effects been?
The value of the dollar plays an absolutely central role in the global economy.
Oddly perhaps, the US suffers least of all. Although its rampant consumers will find it harder to slake their thirst for imports, its companies will become far more competitive, reaping profits and boosting jobs.
Meanwhile exporters in Europe and Asia have found it harder to sell their products into the US market.
American tourists, the free-spending mainstay of many a European or Asian resort, will venture out in far smaller numbers this year.
International companies will suffer uncertainty and complicated book-keeping.
And because commodities such as metals and crops are traded in dollars, their prices may have to rise; gold and oil have both boomed as the dollar fell.
Is there an upside?
Not much of one.
Shopping in New York may be a more affordable option - although not necessarily, if you are planning to buy Japanese-made electronics or European toys.
More broadly, companies will find it cheaper to invest in the US.
Shares might be a worrying purchase for some right now, but a big corporate acquisition in the US could be reasonable value under the right conditions.
Can the dollar go much lower?
Most people seem to think so.
The general consensus is that the pressure on the dollar will persist: although the declining dollar has hit the headlines this week, the factors behind it are long-term, structural issues that are not going to go away.
In time, of course, Europe and Japan - the two main zones of slow economic growth - will pick up speed, and the imbalance between the US and the rest of the world could start to be corrected.
But that could take years.
In the meantime, the question must be whether rich countries will take action to prop up the dollar, as they did in 2000 in support of the euro.
Options this time around are limited, however: interest rates in Europe and especially Japan are unlikely to fall much further, and there does not generally seem to be the sort of global consensus needed to coordinate efforts.
The dollar seems likely to fall: betting just how far is one of the best ways imaginable to lose even more money.
The dollar has hit a series of historic lows against just about every currency. But the reasons behind the falls are not obvious. BBC News Online explains.
How low has the dollar fallen?
It's breaking all sorts of records.
The pound is way out in front, and is currently at an 11-year high.
The euro boasts an all-time high, but it has only existed since 1999; elsewhere in Europe, the Swiss franc is at its strongest since 1996, and the Swedish krona and Norwegian kronor have hit post-1997 highs.
The yen, meanwhile, held in check by Japan's central bank, can only manage a 41-month high, touching levels last seen in late 2000.
The euro, the currency that everyone seems to be watching most closely, has now gained 16.5% against the dollar this year alone, and fully 45% since its historic low of 84 US cents in July 2001.
What's behind all this?
The US economy is pretty perky at the moment, growing by more than 8% at the last count.
But this has produced a curious effect.
As US growth outpaces the global average, its consumers pull in ever more imports, and the country needs to borrow to finance the trade and current-account deficits that result.
Globally, goods and services flow into the US, while cash flows out, producing a constant pressure on the value of the greenback.
US interest rates are at a 45-year low of 1%, scarcely a great lure for the international flows of capital that govern exchange rates.
And Washington's once-ironclad commitment to a strong dollar seems to have waned, perhaps because politicians realise that America stands to gain from having a weaker currency.
What have the effects been?
The value of the dollar plays an absolutely central role in the global economy.
Oddly perhaps, the US suffers least of all. Although its rampant consumers will find it harder to slake their thirst for imports, its companies will become far more competitive, reaping profits and boosting jobs.
Meanwhile exporters in Europe and Asia have found it harder to sell their products into the US market.
American tourists, the free-spending mainstay of many a European or Asian resort, will venture out in far smaller numbers this year.
International companies will suffer uncertainty and complicated book-keeping.
And because commodities such as metals and crops are traded in dollars, their prices may have to rise; gold and oil have both boomed as the dollar fell.
Is there an upside?
Not much of one.
Shopping in New York may be a more affordable option - although not necessarily, if you are planning to buy Japanese-made electronics or European toys.
More broadly, companies will find it cheaper to invest in the US.
Shares might be a worrying purchase for some right now, but a big corporate acquisition in the US could be reasonable value under the right conditions.
Can the dollar go much lower?
Most people seem to think so.
The general consensus is that the pressure on the dollar will persist: although the declining dollar has hit the headlines this week, the factors behind it are long-term, structural issues that are not going to go away.
In time, of course, Europe and Japan - the two main zones of slow economic growth - will pick up speed, and the imbalance between the US and the rest of the world could start to be corrected.
But that could take years.
In the meantime, the question must be whether rich countries will take action to prop up the dollar, as they did in 2000 in support of the euro.
Options this time around are limited, however: interest rates in Europe and especially Japan are unlikely to fall much further, and there does not generally seem to be the sort of global consensus needed to coordinate efforts.
The dollar seems likely to fall: betting just how far is one of the best ways imaginable to lose even more money.
In the long term that's great for us Brits
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