US Dollar Drops Like a Rock 7/2/10

[Karen]

https://www.golloyds.com/exchange/en

My exchange service - look at that exchange rate today. (USD)

88.89

Time to send a chunk of money today!

$510 USD = 47,334 Yen (Including 2,000yen fee)

Yummy!!!

 

[TAG Manager]

Saw that on the morning news, problem with this is that:

A) American tourists are screwed.
B) Japanese companies (exporting to America) are screwed.

On the positive side:

A) I made a lot of money today.
B) I really made a lot of money today.

If you bet on ForEx rates today and you bet properly, you did well. If you went the other way, you got screwed, badly.

Just like the Euro, which is sticking ~111 compared to the 120's back about a month or two ago.

Strange times we're living in.

 

[Kias]

I was just coming here to post this in case anyone needed to transfer US Dollars.

Clearly, I am late to the game.

 

[Karen]

Clearly, I am late to the game.

Yes, why yes you were late.

I sent out a chunk of change before 3pm today. Had to send some back home anyway, so the timing was perfect. I'll be watching the market Monday morning to see which direction the dollar slides.

Today was a win!

 

[Karen]

The rate today is still below 89....

 

[TokyoSpirit]

It's still hovering at ~88 today... wow....

 

[Karen]

I need more money to send while this rate is so good, I just know it'll be crap again by the time payday gets here again.

Could gamble my rent money and just not spend anything again till payday, hmm, what to do??!

 

[Karen]

Transfer rate today: 88.62

Damn damn damn damn damn damn.........

 

[Kias]

I ordered some items online today in US dollars. Based on previous history, they should process the orders in time and thus saving me about ichi-man yen.

Bonus: Free shipping today.

 

[Karen]

The fun may be over for a little while.

rates just updated, 90.02 today. (7/12/10)

I'm not complaining, but 88yen to the dollar was nice for sending money to the states!!!

 

[Karen]

Oh hey hey!

The dollar is back down to 89.96 today, looking for it to hit 88 again! One more big transfer would be great!

 

[TAG Administrator]

It was 87 something yesterday, today's it's still hanging at 88.67 (for lloyds anyway)

Loving this but the tourists aren't! (and Japan's exports...)

-Eliah

 

[TAG Manager]

You guys (and gals) missed it at ~86 yesterday. It's back to 87.32 today, I really wonder how long it's going to stay like this.

 

[Karen]

Lloyds TSB transfer rate @ 86.95 today.

$100 USD = 8,695 Yen
$1000 USD = 86,950 Yen

You get the picture, yeah?

I also watch http://www.xe.com/ for the base rates, which today is showing 85.85.

I've been wanting to transfer $10k USD and maybe today is a good day to do it... 869,500... oh yes.

 

[TKO65]

Did you transfer that money Karen?

It's 86.35 today, seems to be holding in this 86'ish range for awhile now.

 

[Karen]

I don't have the nerve to transfer the money yet, I keep sitting on the edge... watching...waiting...gambling for just a slightly lower rate.

Evil, I know....

 

[Karen]

86.61 today.

I'm targeting 84, even though there is a a very slim possibility it will ever get that low again.

 

[TAG Manager]

Necro bump!

The dollar has been having small gains lately; starting to gain some momentum against the yen. I expect though, it will crash out again after the new year. The holidays will play a big part on the dollar. We won't see the results until the end of 1Q though.

I'm not much of a financial analyst, just seems like common sense to me when you consider the still rising rate of unemployment in most top-tier countries.

 

[Karen]

85.15 today, I did manage to transfer some cash out when it had been down to ~82. I never expected it to go that low, got lucky I guess!

 

[Wwanderer]

I can never figure out which way I want it to go. I have some (a significant) yen income, but my finances are basically in US dollars. So, from a simple economic point of view, a strong yen (lower yen per dollar) is good for me too. However, there is a psychological effect that goes the other way. Namely, when the yen is strong I feel worse about what I spend on luxuries (such as mongering in its various forms) while I am in Japan. I can't quite resist converting to dollars in my head and thinking, "OMG, I can't believe I just paid so much for..." etc.

-Ww

 

[TokyoSpirit]

Ideally, living in Japan and using dollars while traveling has a great benefit when the Yen is quite strong. On the other hand, businesses that are exporting products, are losing money like mad. My mind is so adjusted around the yen, I don't really think about the dollar unless I plan on going on a trip.

However, for some reason, I've still saved more money in Japan that I ever did anywhere else. Strange...

 

[Wwanderer]

Yeah, aside from our various individual situations, a very strong yen is extremely bad news for the Japanese economy overall because it is so export driven/based. Thus, in the long run, a consistently strong yen would be bad for almost everyone working/living in Japan. That's "the big picture".

-Ww

 

[Karen]

Yeah, aside from our various individual situations, a very strong yen is extremely bad news for the Japanese economy overall because it is so export driven/based. Thus, in the long run, a consistently strong yen would be bad for almost everyone working/living in Japan. That's "the big picture".

-Ww

Agreed! I've sent enough money to America for the time being. I don't want to see an overall negative impact to Japan companies, which translates into lost jobs and the risk of more jobs being moved overseas.

I did save about 50,000 yen on travel/shopping costs over this holiday period so far. I just spent another 30,000 yen for the trip to Kyoto tomorrow.

When I first came to Japan, the rate was hovering around 125 yen. How things have changed since then.

~K~

 

[Wwanderer]

About 165 JPY/US$ when I first visited!

-Ww

 

[Wwanderer]

The dollar headed south pretty seriously again this week!

-Ww