Dollar exchange rate with major currencies and crude oil prices today, 11 July

The risk of economies around the world being plunged into recession has been on the rise as continuing disruptions from the covid-19 pandemic are compounded by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Rising prices due to supply chain bottlenecks were pushed even higher on the back of increased energy costs which spiked when Western nations imposed sanctions on Russian exports.

Although the price of crude oil has come down somewhat from highs set in March, plans by OPEC+ to stick with scheduled production quotas mean that prices are unlikely to go below $100 per barrel anytime soon. This led to record prices at the fuel pump with gasoline topping $5 per gallon on average in the United States in mid-June. Fortunately though for drivers, the cost of filling up has been going down with gas prices dropping for 27 days straight, the longest downward streak since 2020.

Even so, some states and localities have put in place measures such as gas tax holidays, President Biden has called for one to be implemented nationwide, to give drivers some relief. Others have chosen to send residents a tax rebate to alleviate the hardship of rising prices, with others like California mooting sending residents inflation relief checks.

The consumer price index report for June is due out on Wednesday and expectations are that it will exceed the 8.6 percent registered in May. Hopes had been that inflation had peaked but on top of the stronger than expected jobs report last week the Federal Reserve may be inclined to double down on its aggressive rate hike strategy, potentially implementing another three-quarters of a percentage increase when policy makers meet at the end of the month.

Inflation and fears of looming recessions in major economies around the world have investors seeking out safe investments to ride out the storm. The knock-on effect is that investing in greenbacks is even more attractive causing the US dollar to surge against other world currencies. The pound recently hit a two-year low against the US dollar and the euro almost fell to parity with the greenback for the first time in twenty years.

Expectations are that the European common currency will fall behind the US dollar in August. That’s good news for those who plan to travel across the pond this summer, if they can find a reasonably priced flight. The price of airfare has jumped a whopping 38 percent from last year on the back of strong demand and high crude prices.

Here’s a look at how much a dollar is worth and what oil is selling for these days.

US dollar exchange rates

The last time the euro and dollar were valued the same was twenty years ago when the 12 countries that formed the eurozone swapped out their own national currencies for the common European banknotes and coins. In Monday trading the dollar hit a 24-year high against the Japonese yen.

Crude oil prices

Sanctions on Russian oil exports after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine sent rising crude oil prices skyrocketing. In March Brent crude peak at just below $135 and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) came close to $124.

The price has come down since with President Biden announcing the release of one million barrels of oil a day for six months from the US strategic reserve along with other nations promising to put an additional 60 million barrels on the market. Covid lockdowns in China created a temporary drop in demand which also helped to cool prices.

In early morning trading on Monday both Brent and WTI were down on fears of economic slowdown as China ramps up covid-19 mass testing due to a new outbreak and the first case of the highly transmissible Omicron variant being discovered in Shanghai reversing gains made on Friday. Here’s where the price sat at the close of markets on Friday 8 July.