Delaware Steel President Says Strong U.S. Dollar Has Hurt Business
According to Bloomberg Business, the dollar has appreciated by about 9.6% against the euro and 3.4% against the yen this year. A stronger currency decreases the competitive value of US exports against goods produced abroad.
Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdahl interviewed Lisa Goldenberg, president of the Delaware Steel Company, on the topic of recovery.
“Things could always be better,” says Goldenberg. “We’re still in a recovery period. Recovery—good recovery—takes a long time. Years. Ten years.”
The strong dollar has hurt her business. Goldenberg explains, “for my daily business I’m a proponent of a much weaker dollar…I have zero business. Not a little—zero, when the dollar is strong.”
And this is compounded by the cheap cost of imported oil, which causes a decline in income earned by foreign affiliates. A drop in oil prices weighs on energy and utility companies.
A strong US dollar and cheap oil prices will also play a crucial role in the decisions made by Fed policy makers as they debate when to go ahead with the first interest rate increase since 2006.
