Currency markets catch many off guard
TEXT OF INTERVIEW
Bill Radke: The credit crisis is ravaging currencies across the globe. One bright spot for American consumers is that the dollar is at five-year highs against some currencies. That means your money goes further overseas and across the border.
Omer Esiner is a *senior analyst for Travelex Corporation. Omer, what’s surprised you most
as you watch the foreign exchange markets?
Omer Esiner: Well, I think really the scope of the moves that we’ve seen is really unprecedented. You know, 35 percent move in the Icelandic currency against the Euro in one day. We’ve seen the Mexican Peso decline by as much as 20 percent against the U.S. dollar in one day. So I think the velocity of the moves that we’ve seen as caught many, including myself, off guard. We had been looking for the dollar to strengthen across the board from its lows in mid-summertime, but really I don’t think anybody expected the scope of the moves to be as violent and as one-sided as they have been.
Radke: One of the very few bright spots in our economy has been exports, because the formerly weak dollar was making American goods more affordable overseas. What is a strong dollar going to do to our wobbly economy?
Esiner: It’s most likely that a stronger dollar will probably have a negative impact on the U.S. economy given the downward pressure that it’s going to likely put on exports, and I think that’s a story that we’re going to be looking at somewhere down the road.
Radke: Omer Esiner, *senior analyst for Travelex Corporation. Thank you so much.
Esiner: Thank you for having me.
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