The Wall Street Journal - The U.S. dollar marched higher again on Friday, continuing a development that could ease inflationary pressures but also could slow a U.S. export boom.
Just a couple of months ago, policy makers were alarmed about how far the dollar had fallen. Now evidence is building that its seven-year slide may be ending.When a currency strengthens, it's usually a sign of health in the underlying economy. In this case, the dollar's rally is a sign of weakness in other economies. Reports in recent days showed that the economies of Japan and Europe contracted in the second quarter, and the U.K. slowed. It's now looking less likely that the rest of the world will be insulated from U.S. economic ills.
The dollar's latest rise is closely tied to recent declines in oil and other commodity prices. As economies in the rest of the world slow, demand for raw materials appears to be waning, which is taking pressure off commodity prices. These goods are typically priced in dollars. As the U.S. currency strengthens, commodity producers have less incentive to increase their prices, further easing the upward pressure on prices. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121884105817145699.html?mod=hps_us_pageone
No comments:
Post a Comment