Quote from crazycanuck:
Well, the hike in rates to me means a need to slow the pace of growth (this aspect is lackingn in EUR and hence they have not had to raise rates) and rising prices (inflation). That does not necessarily translate to a bad US economy...a soft landing is not out of the question. Look at the GDP numbers for the first half of the year.....does not indicate a weak economy at all (esp. when energy costs are factored in), nor has conusmer spending been curbed to any great extent. Please provide your inflation numbers to show that the real interest rate makes the dollar one of the worst instruments (I concede that core and headline inflation measures are poor gauges, but that is what they use).
I do think that there are structural problems that could hurt the USD. However, they have not materialized as of yet. I trade what is...not what "may be". I have been long the dollar since early May, and think this will be the right side of the street vs. EUR and GBP until at least Q4. 2007 is a whole different story, and that picture will become clearer as the data comes out along the way (I think USD will take a beating, but may not start until after Q1). The only currency i have been consistently shorting the USD against has been CAD, however that may change for the next few months if Canada keeps rates flat and allows the strong loonie to do it's work for it.