Which way is the Dollar going?
 

The Pound is worth 1.39 Dollars.

I have a big purchase I want to make in Dollars but it will be too painful at that rate :(

Which way is the exchange rate going? and how long will it take?
After all, your economy is supposed to be worse than the UK, so surely the Dollar should be worth less against the pound and not more?

Can someone edumacate me?

The Mexican Peso gained on the USD in the last couple if days.

http://www.x-rates.com/d/MXN/USD/graph120.png

Here is the data on the GBP vs the USD

http://www.x-rates.com/d/GBP/USD/graph120.png

The trend is for the dollar to be on par with the pound in 3-4 months! Not that I believe that...

Actually, it does appear to be flattening a bit

This is quite scary for you, though! GBP vs. the EURO

http://www.x-rates.com/d/GBP/EUR/graph120.png

The euro at parity is scarey, but I think in the UK we have resigned ourselves to that happening.

The Dollar at parity is not a nice thought. :D

Maybe we should buy you guys out, while the Pound is low. The only thing, we're gonna have to make you guys accept our Constitution. The good news, you get to have your guns back!

Oh, and you'll have to go back to Imperial units, except for "stones".

Short-term, up. Intermediate to long-term, down. WAY down.

And you will have to learn how to drive on the "Right" side of the road.

LOL

The issue isn't the dollar. It's the pound that's taking a massive dump.

Pretty much all western currencies are taking a dump right now, although I believe the magnitude and depth of the dump the dollar will take long-term will outpace that of the others (including the Euro or pound). Net effect is that the dollar will weaken relative to them.

I simply don't see how we can't keep printing Monopoly money by the trillions of dollars and not tremendously de-value our currency. Impossible.

I've pointed this out elsewhere, but there are also a lot of incentives for the government to DELIBERATELY try to weaken the dollar and devalue it too - not the least of which is being able to "offset" today's borrowing with nearly-worthless dollars tomorrow. On paper, it balances. The reality is they can pay off the debt for pennies on the dollar in terms of real value.

There's also the effect of "recovering" housing prices. The average schlub out there will only see that their place is "worth what they paid for it a few years ago" and ergo "all is right with the world again". Makes for a damn nice/convenient political self-congratulatory talking point, doesn't it?

Are you aware that USD has been one of the strongest currencies to be in for the past few months?

Yes - but I believe it's all relative. I figure it'll continue upwards for a time until all the effects of the trillions of dollars of "play money" entering the system become apparent.

It isn't strong because of anything America has done...it is because the others are so bad that they have declined.

All we have done is upped the spending.

The Chinese have a trillion reasons that the dollar shouldn't de-value.

But if we try, they will dump what they have, and drive the dollar into the ground, to spite us.

Two years ago in London, I noticed that they have a 1 pound (as in currency) menu that was the exact same as the $1 menu in the US for the exact same thing. I don't see how people live in London. $600/night for a hotel room that was about the size of my master bathroom. Sheesh!

Agreed.

They've got us very much over a barrel right now. Might be a very, very good time for Beijing to start rattling the saber with Taiwan...

Interestingly enough, not only is USD appreciating relative to other currencies but it is appreciating relative to most assets - property, stocks, most commodities, many types of goods (hence inflation is virtually zero, if not negative), etc.

This isn't anything to celebrate, as it reflects how weak global economies are.

The big bugaboo is "what if the Chinese stop buying treasuries". Some argue that the Chinese have no realistic alternative to buy, which I think is right. They are as dependent on the US economy as we are. But I'd like to see an analysis that convinces me the Chinese will have enough ability to buy.

Inflation is a tinderbox right now. Yes, it's being kept in check by a seriously deflating economy for now, but I have a hard time believing this can stave it off forever. Eventually things are going to either hit bottom or start to turn around. When they do, there's a LOT of pressure on inflation to skyrocket. It could jump very quickly followed by the predictable actions of the Fed (as in the 1970s) to push interest rates extremely high, which could in turn quash a recovery, which would prompt the government to infuse more money, which would put more upward pressure on inflation... (see the cycle?)

Interesting times - I don't know for sure how this is going to play out, but inflationary pressure is the 900-pound gorilla in the room nobody's talking about just yet. You don't just chuck 3 or 4 trillion bucks into circulation with no inflationary ramifications...

Last time I went to London, the pound was at about $1.70. So, I think I'm gonna plan a trip.

A trip to London, where I can pretend things are good.

+1.

Wow, just revisited this and good call. Still not made that purchase, now at $1.62 :)

Further prediction?