The dollar is crashing under Trump, BTW

[Brittain33]

Not sure people have noticed, but the dollar has been falling steadily against the euro all year. It has dropped from $1.05 to the Euro to $1.25. Against decades of precedent whereby the administration says the U.S. favors a strong dollar, whether or not it does, Steve Mnuchin said in Davis that a weak dollar is good for America.

Could you imagine Fox News if this were happening under Obama?

[Sirius_]

Is the dollar chrashing or is the euro rising?

[GeorgiaModerate]

Is the dollar chrashing or is the euro rising?

The dollar has declined against most other major currencies as well (pound, Swiss franc, yen, etc.)

[PoliticalShelter]

TBH the Pre-Trump GOP obsession with a strong currency and paranoia over inflation was always an outdated relic from the 70s/80s and makes absolutely no sense in the 21st century, so Trump has probably done the GOP a favour in this regard.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

This is quite obviously a good thing...this is exactly what the agricultural sector that swung massively towards Trump wanted. How smart are the people of Iowa, huh!

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-called-mike-flynn-about-us-dollar-at-3-am-2017-2

Michael Flynn should have charges dropped for giving such incredible advice when he received this dire call!

[Brittain33]

I agree it's not necessarily a bad thing, but as with the deficit this is something that Fox News and the Republican base supposedly really, really cared about and something where the Trump administration broke decades of precedent without anyone noticing.

[Bismarck]

Good for US exporters.

[Young Conservative]

Good for US exporters.

[Mr. Morden]

This is good for me in the short term, since I still have a fair amount of money in Australia, and I've been waiting for a good time to repatriate it.  Looks like that time may well come soon.

[Torie]

I agree it's not necessarily a bad thing, but as with the deficit this is something that Fox News and the Republican base supposedly really, really cared about and something where the Trump administration broke decades of precedent without anyone noticing.

It is a bad thing if it is a precursor to considerably higher inflation, and one considers that a bad thing.

[Holmes]

This is good for me in the short term, since I still have a fair amount of money in Australia, and I've been waiting for a good time to repatriate it.  Looks like that time may well come soon.

Good on you for waiting. I just converted all my Canadian money after getting tired of waiting.

[DINGO Joe]

This is quite obviously a good thing...this is exactly what the agricultural sector that swung massively towards Trump wanted. How smart are the people of Iowa, huh!

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-called-mike-flynn-about-us-dollar-at-3-am-2017-2

Michael Flynn should have charges dropped for giving such incredible advice when he received this dire call!

I guess ag commodities are up big then?

[Brittain33]

I agree it's not necessarily a bad thing, but as with the deficit this is something that Fox News and the Republican base supposedly really, really cared about and something where the Trump administration broke decades of precedent without anyone noticing.

It is a bad thing if it is a precursor to considerably higher inflation, and one considers that a bad thing.

True, but when was the last time inflation was a problem in the U.S., much less inflation driven by currency? I don't think the inflation rate has been more than a curiosity since around 1990, and has not been a serious economic threat since Volcker slew the dragon 10 years earlier. Over that time the dollar has gone up and down, but this has never triggered noticeable inflation. Much of the Republican base, of course, remembers the 1970s.

[BlueSwan]

It's not "just" inflation. A weaker currency represents a lower real income for americans as their income will now buy less foreign produced goods. A weaker currency might be beneficial overall when unemployment is high, but that is not the case in the US. It might also be beneficial when there is a vast trade deficit which IS the case. However, overall, I wouldn't say that this is great for americans.

[Torie]

I agree it's not necessarily a bad thing, but as with the deficit this is something that Fox News and the Republican base supposedly really, really cared about and something where the Trump administration broke decades of precedent without anyone noticing.

It is a bad thing if it is a precursor to considerably higher inflation, and one considers that a bad thing.

True, but when was the last time inflation was a problem in the U.S., much less inflation driven by currency? I don't think the inflation rate has been more than a curiosity since around 1990, and has not been a serious economic threat since Volcker slew the dragon 10 years earlier. Over that time the dollar has gone up and down, but this has never triggered noticeable inflation. Much of the Republican base, of course, remembers the 1970s.

Yeah, and I have been somewhat surprised. So I did a google to educate myself a bit better on this, and found this little morsel. And the answer is that it is complicated, with exchange rates being in the mix, along with a lot of other stuff and noise. So there you go.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

A weak dollar is good for the US economy...

[Brittain33]

A weak dollar is good for the US economy...

In most times this is true, but we are now close to overheating and we are loading on the Keynesian stimulus while draining the labor force.

[Ban my account ffs!]

A weak dollar is good for the US economy...

In most times this is true, but we are now close to overheating and we are loading on the Keynesian stimulus while draining the labor force.

Yeah inflation will probably be going up... which will lead to interest rate hikes and given where the stock market is, that’s not good.

[Koharu]

A weak dollar is good for the US economy...

In most times this is true, but we are now close to overheating and we are loading on the Keynesian stimulus while draining the labor force.

Yeah inflation will probably be going up... which will lead to interest rate hikes and given where the stock market is, that’s not good.

In addition, wages still haven't really adjusted for inflation as it is. More inflation will cause those wages to feel even lower.