近期的欧元疲软已经使美国消费者获益，因为现在的美元比几个月以前能买入更多的欧元。这使得去欧洲旅游更加便宜，有可能导致美国从欧洲进口货物更加便宜甚至可能使美国的抵押贷款利率更低。外汇市场的变化非常迅速，所以消费者想要从这次欧元下跌中快速反映获取利益。（你需要了解从股票到外汇市场如何调整报价，保证金，利差和滚动。了解更多请看：《外汇市场入门》。）
背景
不久之前，美元由于其在抵抗衰退和经济危机中的花费导致的高逆差是世界范围内的笑柄，导致投资者更倾向于那些财政状况似乎更好的国家的货币。欧元是那个趋势中的主要获益者，它在过去多年对美元的兑换中保持强劲姿态。
专家甚至公开谈论取代美元的世界储备货币地位，并用欧元或者其他一系列货币取代它。传言席卷市场，石油输出国组织的一些成员决定由于美元的疲软不再在石油交易中接收美元。（石油输出国组织的决定影响油价，但是其力量有限。在Meet OPEC, Manager Of Oil Wealth中了解更多。）
然而，2010年早期，由于希腊在进入资本市场中遇到麻烦，市场开始关注许多欧洲国家的经济状况。市场担心欧洲主权债务蔓延到其他国家，包括西班牙、葡萄牙、爱尔兰和意大利。在过去六个月中，欧元对美元的价值从1.2287美元每欧元下降了20%。
旅游
最明显的好处是美国人到欧洲旅游。假设两个大学室友计划攒钱夏天去欧洲大陆旅游，并从2010年早期开始计划。一个室友看到了2009年9月的美元暴跌，在当时以66美分每欧元的汇率把4000美元兑换成了欧元。他获得了大概2640欧元，并且感觉旅行相当不错。他的朋友比价懒直到上周才开始执行计划。他以81美分每欧元的汇率兑换了4000美元，得到大约3200欧元，比他的好友多得到大概600美元。
欧洲货物
欧元价格下降在美国人支付欧洲货物的影响有一点小复杂。标准经济理论认为，当一个国家的货币贬值，这个国家货物在国际出口市场上的价格降低并帮助出口。虽然这是正确的，一些缓和因素可能减缓欧元对美元下跌带来的好处。
中间商和零售商可能为了自己的好处保持货物价格不变，希望美国消费正不会关注每日的汇率浮动。
即使存在这些复杂因素，消费者也注意到了一些欧洲商品的价格已经开始下降，当地报纸报道奶酪、葡萄酒和其他消费品的价格开始下降。
许多产品使用石油为基础的原材料并在供应链上。由于石油仍然以美元计价，随着欧元下跌，油价对这些制造商来说变得更加昂贵并削减利润。运输成本也随着石油的价格一起上升。这可能导致欧洲公司提高产品价格以弥补越来越高的成本，消除或者减少汇率变化对美国人的好处。
抵押好处
欧元下跌和对欧洲主权债务危机的恐慌也让美国利率的下调，帮助美国人寻找抵押购买住房。当全球资本转变为以美元计价的资产，被投资在最具流动性的金融工具里面。这种高需求导致价格上升利率下降，帮助新买家和可调利率抵押贷款的美国人根据国债利率重置利率。
持续的欧洲主权债务危机使美国幸灾乐祸，因为传统智慧里“可悲的”美元近期不会出现。美国消费者也似乎在欧元对美元每天的新低中收益，同时让旅游和货物进口更加便宜。
How You Can Benefit From A Weak Euro
The recent weakness in the euro has led to benefits for American consumers, as the U.S. dollar can buy significantly more euros than just a few months ago. This makes travel to Europe cheaper, may lead to lower prices for items in America that are imported from Europe and even helps lower rates on mortgages in the U.S. Things can change quickly in the foreign exchange market, so consumers might want to act quickly to take advantage of the falling euro. (Moving from equities to currencies requires you to adjust how you interpret quotes, margin, spreads and rollovers. Learn more; read A Primer On The Forex Market.)
Background
Not too long ago, the U.S. dollar was the butt of jokes around the world as higher deficit spending used to fight the recession and financial crisis caused investors to favor currencies of nations that seemed in better financial condition. The euro was one of the main beneficiaries of this trend, as it gained strength against the dollar over a multi-year period.
Pundits even talked openly about replacing the dollar as the world's reserve currency and replacing it with the euro or a basket of other currencies. Rumors swept the market that some members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Nations (OPEC) were considering not accepting dollars for oil sales any longer due to the weakening currency. (OPEC's decisions can influence oil prices, but there is a limit to its power. Learn more in Meet OPEC, Manager Of Oil Wealth.)
However, earlier in 2010, the market turned its attention toward the finances of many European nations, as Greece started to have trouble accessing the capital markets. Market worries about the European sovereign debt then spread to other nations, including Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy. Over the last six months, the euro has declined in value as much as 20% versus the dollar, with a euro worth 1.2287 dollars.
Travel
The most obvious benefit is for travel by Americans to Europe. Let's say that two college roommates were setting up a trip to the continent in the summer, and started planning in early 2010. One roommate saw the plunging dollar and in December 2009, exchanged $4,000 into euros at the exchange rate back then of 66 cents per euro. He netted approximately 2,640 euros and felt pretty good about the trip. His friend was a little lazier and waited until last week. His $4,000 nest egg was converted at the current rate of 81 cents per euro, yielding approximately 3,200 euros, about 600 euros more than his buddy.
European Goods
The effect of a falling euro on the prices that Americans pay for European goods is a little more complex. Standard economic theory holds that when a nation's currency depreciates, it makes goods cheaper on the international market and helps exports. While this is true, some mitigating factors may prevent a flow through of all the benefits of a falling euro against the dollar.
Middlemen and retailers in the U.S. may capture some of the currency benefit for themselves and keep prices the same, hoping perhaps that U.S. consumers don't pay attention to daily currency fluctuations.
Many products also use petroleum-based raw material inputs somewhere in the supply chain. Since oil is still denominated in dollars, as the euro falls, oil will become more expensive to these manufacturers and might cut profit margins. Transportation costs may also rise with the price of oil. This may lead European companies to raise prices to cover higher costs, erasing or limiting any benefits of the currency change for Americans.
Even with these complexities, consumers have already started to notice that the prices of some European goods have fallen, with local newspapers reporting price declines for cheese, wine and other consumables.
Mortgage Benefits
The falling euro and panic over the European sovereign debt crisis also lowers interest rates in the U.S., helping Americans looking for a mortgage to buy a home. As global capital shifts into dollar-denominated assets, it is invested in the most liquid financial instruments, typically U.S. government obligations. This high demand pushes prices up and lowers interest rates, helping both new buyers and Americans with adjustable-rate mortgages that reset based on Treasury rates.
The continuing European sovereign debt crisis has led to schadenfreude for the U.S., as the conventional wisdom about the "pathetic" U.S. dollar appears to be premature. American consumers are also seeing a benefit as the value of the euro versus the U.S. dollar seems to hit a new low every day, making travel and imported goods cheaper as well.
本文翻译由兄弟财经提供
文章来源：http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0710/how-you-can-benefit-from-a-weak-euro.aspx