In Amsterdam, tourists say it is becoming increasingly hard to exchange US
dollars for euros.

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS (MARCH 17, 2008)(REUTERS) - The U.S. dollar's value is dropping so fast against the euro that
small currency outlets in Amsterdam are turning away tourists seeking to sell
their dollars for local money while on vacation in the Netherlands.    
    "Our dollar is worth maybe zero over here, plus it looks like
Amsterdam doesn't even want to deal with our dollars, it's hard to find a
place even to exchange. We have to go downtown, down to Central Station and to
the post office. We also use travellers' cheques, which is cash to us because
we've already paid for them, but a lot of places don't want to deal with those
as well," Mary Kelly from Indianapolis said to Reuters on Monday.
    That's because the smaller currency exchanges -- despite buy/sell
spreads that make it easier for them to make money by exchanging small amounts
of currency -- don't want to be caught holding dollars that could be worth
less by the time they can sell them.
    One American tourist Leslie said that because she was staying with
someone rather than paying for a hotel, the high prices had not really
affected her.   
    "I think it would have been bad if I weren't staying with someone
and I had to pay everything on my own, then I think it would have been pretty
bad, but right now it's not." Leslie said.
    While another American tourist, Corry Franklin said to Reuters that
Europe has become expensive for all Americans because of the weak dollar.
    "It's our first trip to Europe and we realized the euro used to be
equivalent to dollar and now it's 1.6 so you always got to do the math in your
head and realize it's a lot more expensive for Americans to come here and buy
things." Franklin said.  
    The dollar hovered near record lows on Monday (March 17), with one euro
worth around $1.58 versus $1.47 a month ago.
    The U.S. economy lost the title of "world's biggest" to the
euro zone as the value of the dollar slumped in currency markets.
    Taking the gross domestic product of both economies in 2007, the
combined GDP of the 15 countries which use the euro overtook that of the
United States when the European currency surged to a record high of more than
$1.56 per euro. Taking official estimates of 2007 GDP -- $13,843,800 billion
for the United States and 8,847,889.1 billion euros for the euro zone -- the
economy of the latter passed the United States once converted into dollars,
shortly after the euro topped $1.56.