When Visiting Another Country
If we remain at home and do not travel abroad, we can appreciate what it is like in other countries by looking at the pictures that our friends bring back from their visits to other countries. Not everyone can be a world traveler, but some have the resources to travel and share their experiences. This is the case with a travel journalist who spends their whole life traveling from country to country and taking pictures for others who may be interested in visiting.
Travel Journalist
Of course, tourism loves a travel journalist because people get a chance to see what the country is like before they visit, and this attracts visitors to the country. At some point, the tourist does travel outside the United States or other departure cities and travel to their destinations outside of their native countries. When they go to another country, they will need to exchange their currency with the currency of the country they are traveling in. Foreign exchanges are suitable for businesses who can receive their currency at the point of sale, and tourists can exchange foreign currency on their exit.
Use of Foreign Currencies
When we travel to another country, we are in the habit of using another country’s currency. If we go to Japan, we use the yen, but if we travel to Germany, we use the euro. Again if we travel to Iraq, we will receive dinar value for our US dollars. Many currencies are traded throughout the world. The value of these other currencies change to more or less equal to the US dollar, dependant upon the political and economic factors of the country.
Foreign Currencies Change in Value
While we may not notice the fluctuation in the value of the Chinese yen or the German marc, when we are in those countries, every country’s currency is in constant fluctuation. When we land in a country for vacation, we will trade our US dollars for the currency of that country we are vacationing. When we leave the country, we will again trade our British pound for the US dollar, which may have changed during our stay. Our British pound may have become less valuable to us during our vacation and, therefore, when we receive, we receive fewer US dollars. That is what is called the foreign exchange rate.
US Dollar and the Strength of Other Currencies
The US dollar is seen as probably the most robust dollar in foreign exchanges along with the British pound. A few reasons why there is strength in the US dollar is because of the strong economy and its GDP or Gross Domestic Product. Along with a stable democratic government and a capitalistic economy, it gives the US dollar a leading edge over other countries. Some countries may have a different form of government which causes it to be unstable, or they are at a time of unrest and political war within the state. When a country fails to produce products on a world market and few products are being traded with other countries, this will affect that countries value of its currency. The US dollar has a stable government and banking system, especially the Federal Reserve Bank which keeps the US dollar active in both economic growth or economic slumps in the economy.
Iraqi Dinar Against the US Dollar
Presently, the Iraqi dinar (IQD) is trading about 1166 to a US Dollar, which, according to foreign exchanges, is the lowest it has ever been. The IQD has a high value if it could get itself out of the slump that it fell into after the Iraqi War. The strong possibility of a revaluation of the IQD is reliable, but presently its major commodity is oil and oil is not trading well on the world market.
Oil Prices Could Change
Oil is selling at a lower price because there is a great emphasis on finding other kinds of natural fuels. Another problem with the revaluation of the IQD at present is the political unrest the country is experiencing. Finally, the IQD is not traded on some foreign exchanges because of its meager value, even though they trade almost all other foreign currencies. The potential for a revaluation of the IQD is still being held steady for the future. The reason for this revaluation is because of the possibility that oil prices will increase. If oil prices move from their present value to $100 per barrel, then Iraq would be very wealthy. Iraq has a reserve of 143 billion barrels of oil, and they are the fourth largest exporter of oil in the world. At present, this is outside of the hands of the local Iraqi government, and only the future will tell whether the IQD will receive a greater revaluation on the world foreign exchange.
