Americans with a European holiday in your sights, here’s some fantastic news. The Euro is currently at the lowest value it’s been in years. As of today (May 12), it’s valued at $1.05 to the dollar, which is the weakest the Eurozone currency has been since January 2017.
Whichever way you cut it, $1.05 is an astonishingly low value for the Euro. For context, just a year ago the currency was at $1.20 to the dollar. In real terms, this essentially means that if you’re an American visiting Europe, your cash will go much further. A €200 hotel room which one year ago cost $240 would now cost just $210. Pretty crazy stuff, eh?
Europeans visiting the US, meanwhile, will face far higher costs than usual. The equivalent $200 room now costs €191, whereas last year it would’ve set you back just €166. As you can see, exchange rates can have a huge impact on the overall cost of a holiday.
So what has caused such a huge shift in currency values? Well, the weakened Euro has been somewhat affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as high inflation across the Eurozone. However, the dollar is also currently much stronger than usual, meaning that it’s enjoying a better exchange rate with quite a few other currencies, too. Take the British pound, for instance. A year ago GBP was valued at $1.40 to the dollar, but now it’s way down at around $1.20.
In other words, it’s a great time to have all your money in USD.
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