For the last 14 months in Peru, the value of the U.S. dollar has been tanking. That trend really hurts when you're an expat, like me, who still keeps a bank account in the U.S.
When El Fotógrafo and I arrived in Lima in July 2007, the dollar was trading at 3.3 Peruvian soles. We didn't realize at the time, but that was a sweet exchange rate.
A few months later, the dollar started dipping in value. We were shocked when it went under 3 soles. Then it began dropping more, all the way to 2.65 soles.
The official money changers (see guy in green vest, above) we traded with on the street kept giving us less and less for our greenbacks.
By 2008, the monthly tuition for El Hijo's school had risen by the equivalent of an extra $100 a month, all due to the falling exchange rate. Ouch.
Today the sun peeked out in Lima, and we received a surprise from our corner money-changer: The dollar was trading at 2.96 soles on the street (2.965 and higher in the banks).
I trade dollars with a woman with flashing eyes and a mischievous smile. "La Reina de la Moneda," I call her.
La Reina gave me that wide grin today as she handed over 59 soles, 20 centimos, for my $20 bill.
She'd been grinning at me like that all through the dollar drop. I'd presumed she was happy to see her country's currency gain in value. Surely today's dollar upswing would upset her.
But no. La Reina's in the business of making business. She's happy as long as someone is still trading money. Dollar up, dollar down, she makes a profit, regardless, when she exchanges her bills at the exchange houses in downtown Lima. (She makes about 2 centimos per dollar, EF says.)
I am savoring the dollar's brief climb to the 3 soles mark. (See "Peru Sells Record Dollars, Sol Falls," Bloomberg, Oct. 2, 2008).
EF thinks the dollar will rise more. I say it's temporary. Who is going to trust the dollar after this debacle?
It takes leaving the United States to become aware of the real-world value of the dollar. Dollar Staggers out of Ditch for Brief Day in the Sun
October 2nd, 2008 · 1 Comment · Daily Life in Lima, Looking Back at the United States, Money, Economics, Politics
For the last 14 months in Peru, the value of the U.S. dollar has been tanking. That trend really hurts when you're an expat, like me, who still keeps a bank account in the U.S.
When El Fotógrafo and I arrived in Lima in July 2007, the dollar was trading at 3.3 Peruvian soles. We didn't realize at the time, but that was a sweet exchange rate.
A few months later, the dollar started dipping in value. We were shocked when it went under 3 soles. Then it began dropping more, all the way to 2.65 soles.
The official money changers (see guy in green vest, above) we traded with on the street kept giving us less and less for our greenbacks.
By 2008, the monthly tuition for El Hijo's school had risen by the equivalent of an extra $100 a month, all due to the falling exchange rate. Ouch.
Today the sun peeked out in Lima, and we received a surprise from our corner money-changer: The dollar was trading at 2.96 soles on the street (2.965 and higher in the banks).
I trade dollars with a woman with flashing eyes and a mischievous smile. "La Reina de la Moneda," I call her.
La Reina gave me that wide grin today as she handed over 59 soles, 20 centimos, for my $20 bill.
She'd been grinning at me like that all through the dollar drop. I'd presumed she was happy to see her country's currency gain in value. Surely today's dollar upswing would upset her.
But no. La Reina's in the business of making business. She's happy as long as someone is still trading money. Dollar up, dollar down, she makes a profit, regardless, when she exchanges her bills at the exchange houses in downtown Lima. (She makes about 2 centimos per dollar, EF says.)
I am savoring the dollar's brief climb to the 3 soles mark. (See "Peru Sells Record Dollars, Sol Falls," Bloomberg, Oct. 2, 2008).
EF thinks the dollar will rise more. I say it's temporary. Who is going to trust the dollar after this debacle?
It takes leaving the United States to become aware of the real-world value of the dollar. Tags: credit·money·US financial collapse
1 response so far ↓
1 How Far Does a Dollar Go in Peru These Days? | An American in Lima // Mar 25, 2009 at 9:52 pm
[...] trend is encouraging for Peruvians and expats who keep their money in dollars. I know I whined in October that the dollar was tanking, but my complaints were [...]