The Morning News is an Open Thread
1 Dollar slips, euro gains credibility as viable rival
By Peter Grier, The Christian Science Monitor
Tue Dec 4, 3:00 AM ET
| Washington – For over half a century, the US dollar has been the preeminent form of legal tender in the world. Much of today’s global trade is priced in dollars, even if the item in question isn’t being sold or bought by a US firm. Most of the foreign exchange held by national central banks is dollars not British pounds, Chinese renminbi, or Japanese yen.
But in recent months, the king of currencies has taken it on the chin. Since August the dollar has shrunk about 6 percent in value, measured against an assortment of its fellows. Perhaps more important, it may be losing cachet overseas: Tourists can no longer pay in dollars to enter the Taj Mahal and other Indian national landmarks, for instance. Is the dollar set to lose its top status and the national financial advantages that entails? It has swooned and recovered before, most notably in the 1970s and late 1980s. But there’s a difference this time. The dollar has a credible rival: the euro. |
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