How will the euro affect the exchange rate between my dollars and the 11 European currencies?
In January, the European Central Bank established fixed exchange rates between the euro and each of the 11 national currencies. These rates will not change. But the exchange rate between the euro and other currencies — such as the U.S. dollar — will float, i.e., will be subject to changes based on the currencies’ value relative to one another. The fixed exchange rates are as follows: 1 euro = 13.7603 Austrian schillings = 40.3399 Belgian francs = 5.94573 Finnish markkaa = 6.55957 French francs = 1.95583 German marks = 0.787564 Irish punt = 1,936.27 Italian lire = 40.3399 Luxembourgian francs = 2.20371 Dutch guilders = 200.482 Portuguese escudos = 166.386 Spanish pesetas From now on, the dollar’s strength (or weakness) will be felt uniformly in all the euro-zone countries. No longer will it be possible for the dollar to rise in value by 10 percent against the French franc while it falls by 5 percent against the deutsche mark. When the euro was introduced on January 1, it was worth about
