The dollar finished the week near a 19-month high, and that changes the price of anything an American buys in another currency. On Friday, Nov. 13, one euro cost $1.103 and one dollar bought 159.70 yen, Reuters reported.
The euro touched its lowest level since April 2025 during the week, according to Reuters. The dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of major currencies, rose on Friday to its highest level since April 2025. The yen was around its weakest level since early September.
The basic idea
A stronger dollar means each dollar buys more of another currency. Turned around, it means a price set in euros or yen takes fewer dollars to pay.
That is the whole mechanism. It matters most for things priced abroad: a hotel room in Paris, a train ticket in Tokyo, a jacket from a shop that lists its prices in euros.
An example in euros
Here is an example, using Friday's rate. A hotel charges 100 euros a night. At $1.103 per euro, that night costs $110.30.
The arithmetic is one step. Multiply the price in euros by the dollar price of one euro. A three-night stay at the same hotel would be 300 euros, or $330.90 at that rate.
When the euro gets cheaper in dollars, the same 100-euro bill costs fewer dollars. When the euro gets more expensive, it costs more. The hotel's price has not changed. The conversion has.
An example in yen
The yen is quoted the other way, as yen per dollar, so the arithmetic runs the other way too. Divide instead of multiply.
Here is an example. A meal in Tokyo costs 10,000 yen. At 159.70 yen per dollar, that is about $62.62.
More yen per dollar means a yen price costs fewer dollars. Friday's rate was 159.70. A higher number would make the same meal cheaper in dollars, and a lower number would make it more expensive.
Online orders from abroad
The same rule applies when you shop online from a seller outside the country. If the checkout page lists the price in euros, yen or another currency, the dollar amount depends on the rate used to convert it.
Here is an example. A sweater listed at 80 euros would come to $88.24 at Friday's rate of $1.103 per euro, before any shipping or other charges the seller adds.
The rate on the screen and the rate you pay
The rates in a Reuters report are market rates. They are not necessarily the rate a traveler or shopper gets.
Banks and card networks set their own exchange rates, and they may add fees on top. The figure on a card statement after a trip can differ from the rate quoted in the news on the same day.
So the market rate is a starting point. The terms from the bank or card issuer show the actual cost of converting.
What the strong dollar does not do
A stronger dollar lowers the dollar cost of a foreign price. It does not change what a foreign hotel or shop decides to charge.
The rate also moves from day to day. On Friday alone the euro fell 0.26 percent against the dollar, according to Reuters. The examples above use Friday's rates; a purchase on another day converts at that day's rate.
In short
For anyone paying in euros or yen this weekend, the dollar goes further than it has at any point since April 2025, measured by the dollar index. The bill is the foreign price, converted at a rate, plus whatever the bank or card charges to do the converting.