# St Barts Forums > St Barts Island Main Forum >  >  Euro Exchange Rate 1.09 to Dollar

## dadto6

Great news, strong US economy drives exchange rate to 1.09.  Keep going!  Will be exciting when it is even par, will that day come in 2020?

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## jmp1968

> Great news, strong US economy drives exchange rate to 1.09.  Keep going!  Will be exciting when it is even par, will that day come in 2020?



Just in time!

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## NancySC

Don't know the year, but I do remember when it Euro was equal to USD !

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## stbartshopper

1.09 is close Bob!

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## andynap

PHL airport exchange was quoting .75e to  1 dollar. Robbers.

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## Logan

Just be thankful you are not facing the exchange from Canadian $ to euro... painful ...1 euro = 1.50 cdn

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## Saline Man

$1.09 Euro or less is par for the dollar when you consider sales tax in the US.

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## stbartshopper

Great point Saline Man.
.75 is more than highway robbery! Wonder how many customers go ahead and exchange there?

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## Hawke

> Just be thankful you are not facing the exchange from Canadian $ to euro... painful ...1 euro = 1.50 cdn



Could it be the Trudeau factor?

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## Logan

Lol .. who knows Trudeau, Trump Brexit ... in SB none of that matters... just sun,sea,food, glorious sunsets and returning friends

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## cassidain

Bob, when you started this thread one week ago euro was actually $1.098. 
$1.084 today. 
That’s pretty decent drop in one week.

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## dadto6

Hi Cass,
Hope the Dollar keeps gaining favor.

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## stbartshopper

The island ATMs are delivering spot rates.

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## cassidain

> The island ATMs are delivering spot rates.



in my experience atm's always convert at essentially spot rates.

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## dadto6

Today in the $1.07 range, dollar keeps getting stronger

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## andynap

Last week Oasis was giving spot rates

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## Jeanette

I was thrilled to see 1.08 on xe.com this morning.

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## cassidain

$1.067 to buy one euro at the moment. Was over $1.12 a week ago.

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## cassidain

$1.134 at the moment  and falling like a rock

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## amsmulko

Me too!!!

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## didier

yes, definitely falling fast.

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## cassidain

$1.16

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## cassidain

$1.185  :Frown:

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## Tiffany

:Frown:  We debated stocking up on euros earlier this year.  Never did it.  Big mistake. Stay safe everyone.

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## Jim A

Wow. I had no idea how high the exchange rate had gone recently. 1.226 as of this morning.

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## lvbookworm

> Wow. I had no idea how high the exchange rate had gone recently. 1.226 as of this morning.



YIKES! It was around 1.18 when we were there late November. Our bags were definitely not overflowing with purchases on the return trip.

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## bkeats

Dollar has been selling off against most currencies. Really picked up after the election. Concerns about increased Treasury issuance, larger deficits, slowing economy and such are hitting the dollar. Wouldn't be surprised to see it continue into 2021 as every time the dollar rallies a bit more shorts pile on. Probably going to be worse for the visitors from the UK as cable has been selling off all year and now that the Brexit drama is over, market is expecting UK economy to slow further. So if you want to hedge your vacation, buy FXE.

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## JEK

I will gladly suffer the going rate just to be vaccinated and back at Le Select sipping Ti Punch!

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## GramChop

> I will gladly suffer the going rate just to be vaccinated and back at Le Select sipping Ti Punch!



What he said.  :thumb up:  :Very Drunk:

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## JEK



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## Jim A

Just noticed a little drop recently. 1.185 right now. High but better than 1.23

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## stbartshopper

Hope it keeps coming down!

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## Jim A

1.13 as of today for anyone traveling soon

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## Eve

> $1.09 Euro or less is par for the dollar when you consider sales tax in the US.



and tipping for a meal

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## cassidain

> I will gladly suffer the going rate just to be vaccinated and back at Le Select sipping Ti Punch!





i prefer the current rate and ti punch. help yourself to other juice.

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## Eve

> $1.09 Euro or less is par for the dollar when you consider sales tax in the US.



and tip

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## cassidain

surely we have an economist out there who could speak to real exchange rates?

personally, I use these real indicators for dollars to buy a euro: $0.85 = studly; $1.00 = good; $1.15 = meh; $1.30 = getting greenish around gills; $1.45 = intense burning sensation emanating from rear quarter.

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## cassidain

1.093 at time of this posting.

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## shihadehs

I must go shopping!!!!

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## bkeats

> surely we have an economist out there who could speak to real exchange rates?



Not an economist but I pay attention to major currency crosses more than most as part of my day job.

As the FX strategists would say, there are a lot of cross currents going on. EUR/USD cross was only at 85 post the EUR launch. Hasn't been back in that range since IIRC. Last period of sustained EUR weakness was back when the world was worried about GREXIT. USD was incredibly weak right after the GFC. That was an expensive time as an American to travel overseas. My European colleagues on the other hand were buying suitcases when they came to NYC to pack all the stuff they bought as prices were so low for them.

Today you have a Fed that has pivoted dramatically. I was convinced last year the Fed was behind the ball on where they needed to be on inflation and the continued easing was flooding the market with liquidity. But the fact that Lagarde was even more timid supported the dollar. For hawkishness, BoE lead the world, Fed and ECB were meekly denying there was a problem. Once Powell was confirmed he spun around 180 degrees. First Fed tightening in year followed by talk of several 50 bp moves. Lagarde was like a deer in headlights in comparison. Inflation up, rates going higher. I would not get too excited about weakening of the EUR/USD rate as that will be a sign of a lot of things going wrong in the world.

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## cassidain

> I would not get too excited about weakening of the EUR/USD rate as that will be a sign of a lot of things going wrong in the world.



amen to that, bk. still, to the extent dollar earners are spending euros anyway . . .

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## cassidain

1.0787 at the moment

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## cassidain

1.069 at the moment

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## bkeats

1.059 and dropping. Lowest since early naughts. With Ukraine, gas shut off and the like going on will likely continue to drop. Inflation in EU will look even uglier. At least summer is coming. Good for those coming from the US spending $ but this is a bad sign for the world if you pay attention to the macro trends. I'm getting concerned we are going to hit parity soon which will be an indication of some really bad stuff going on in the world.

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## Jim A

> 1.059 and dropping. Lowest since early naughts. With Ukraine, gas shut off and the like going on will likely continue to drop. Inflation in EU will look even uglier. At least summer is coming. Good for those coming from the US spending $ but this is a bad sign for the world if you pay attention to the macro trends. I'm getting concerned we are going to hit parity soon which will be an indication of some really bad stuff going on in the world.



Yeah, just saw 1.0546 on Bloomberg. Selfishly since I just paid for a couple of apartment stays in Italy for the Summer today and have 3 trips to Countries that use the euro this year its good news for me.

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## Cwater

Good news.  We rented a Mini Cooper for 700 some odd euros at 9.1 exchange.  For two weeks.  We are going to be saving huge numbers this time around.

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## jrosen

I went straight to the atm first thing this morning! Then to Choisy for the last cronut in the case! Just another great tip from Amy😋

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## amyb

Jimmy, the Choisy cronut becomes an addiction--forewarned.

Enjoy!

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## ADorocke

$1.0379 !   All-time low?

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## amyb

no, but closing in on it!

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## cassidain

> $1.0379 !   All-time low?



something like 85 or 87 cents.

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## ADorocke

> something like 85 or 87 cents.



I mean since like 2000 onwards! 😄

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## bkeats

> I mean since like 2000 onwards! 



It was below parity until mid 2002, so yes its been lower. The EUR dropped through parity soon after the intro. I had recently started working and was doing a lot business in Europe at the time convergence started. The late 90s was a pretty stressful time with the Asian currency crisis, Russian default followed by the collapse of LTCM and then general economic malaise. It was around this level in 2016 in the aftermath of the Brexit vote and the feeding off of fears of a collapse of the EU. On the other side, when the EUR was incredibly strong in 2008/2009 the US economy had collapsed and gone into recession after the GFC. Extreme moves in currencies is an indicator that economies are under stress and the impacted countries are not in good shape.

CIO for Amundi is calling for parity this year and not because the world is in good shape.

If you pay attention to real world events, a break through parity will be a bad sign as that will be a indicator of a lot of bad things happening in the Europe. Sure things will be cheaper where the EUR is used, but you may not want to travel then. It like what Gartman used to write, be careful what you wish for, you may get it good and hard.

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## Marius

If from the US and have always paid in dollars, will the price of the villas change to reflect the euro price? Or do we just pay in euros and let credit card exchange?

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## ADorocke

Thank you, BKeats for that info.  Very informative.  

I've wondered the same, Marius... on menu prices, for example- are they being subtly hiked to reflect the drop in exchange rate?  I would hope not- That would negatively impact the local island economy/customer base.  But villas... that is a good question...

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## Marius

Are the menu prices rising due to exchange rate or inflation? I think inflation....  But villas are different. It appears the exchange rate in pricing for the villas is between 1.21 - 1.26 depending on the villa. Should be around 1.04. Big difference.

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## ADorocke

How do you determine/arrive at that 1.21-1.26 rate? I never see any Euros pricing on SBP villas, for example, for a comparison?

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## Marius

Check a villa quoted in dollars then change it to euros, calculate the rate

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## KevinS

Villa pricing has traditionally been in USD.  (Hotel rates have traditionally been in FF, and now EUR.)  I have always paid for my villa rental in USD.  Any conversion rate to a different currency is likely to benefit the villa rental agency (or the hotel) more than it benefits you.

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## cassidain

it may be possible to take advantage of current exchange rates by renting directly from a French villa owner and paying in euros. we have done that before, but it's been quite a while back.

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## cassidain



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## TR561

Never been a better time to make the trip !   Just need to forget about an economy ticket costing $900 and a 50/50 chance your plane ever takes off!

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## steelpe

> a 50/50 chance your plane ever takes off!



My biggest fear as I move closer to our November trip (I already swallowed the bitter airline pill... yuck!).

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## cassidain

Par !

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## JEK

No left turn

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## cassidain

> No left turn



maybe this should be in food forum since one uses euros to buy food  :cool:

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## cassidain

0.995

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## Cwater

We have taken advantage and booked plus 50% deposit in Euros.  Life is good

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## dadto6

Bought bottle of Vanilla Rum at Le Rivage this afternoon.  They sold me even money Euro to Dollar :)

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## Cwater

> Bought bottle of Vanilla Rum at Le Rivage this afternoon.  They sold me even money Euro to Dollar :)



it is wonderful that Le Rivage is taking off.  It just shows us that location, while important, works with great food and great service.

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## cassidain

96 cents

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## fandango

Hi, i was curious if the restos were accepting US dollars at an even exchange of the Euro since the dollar is technically better than par now..
 thanks for a response, excited about our upcoming second trip back this year !

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