美国国家公共电台 NPR The Dollar Is Weaker, But That Might Not Be A Bad Thing

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Let's talk about currency. The U.S. dollar rallied a bit last week. But it is still down sharply from its peak at the beginning of the year. So is that a good thing or is it kind of troubling? NPR's John Ydstie answers that question.

JOHN YDSTIE, BYLINE¹: Currency expert Jens Nordvig says the biggest factor in the dollar's fall is growing doubts that the Trump² administration will be able to put in place its economic growth policies.

JENS NORDVIG: We came into the year with some very elevated expectations. There was a lot of hope that we were going to get a big tax reform. There was a lot of hope that we were going to get fiscal³ expansion.

YDSTIE: Which was supposed to come from a jump in government spending on infrastructure⁴ and consumer spending fueled by tax cuts. That would have led to faster growth and multiple interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Rising U.S. rates would have put upward pressure on the dollar.

NORDVIG: The overarching theme has been that those expectations have been disappointed.

YDSTIE: But positive developments have also contributed to the dollar's decline, says Nordvig.

NORDVIG: If you look at the global picture where you have better growth in Europe, better growth in Canada, for example, those are positive things because there's something better going on in the global economy.

YDSTIE: That's pushed the value of the euro up about 15 percent against the dollar this year. That might make U.S. tourists unhappy, but it helps U.S. exporters whose products are now more competitive. Nordvig says it's also important to remember the dollar has weakened after peaking around New Year's at highs not seen since the 1980s. So the dollar is nowhere near touching⁵ new lows. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。