A weaker US dollar is quietly raising costs for things from summer travel to weekly groceries. Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, the dollar has fallen roughly 10% against other major currencies, a move likely contributing to Americans’ affordability concerns.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback versus major currencies, posted its steepest six-month decline in more than 50 years in the first half of 2025. While the drop hasn’t accelerated since then, the index remains about 10% below where it was at the start of Trump’s term. A strong dollar makes imports cheaper and helps restrain inflation; a weak dollar can push up prices on foreign goods while making US exports more competitive.
Trump has publicly favored a weaker dollar, saying it helps American industry. “You make a hell of a lot more money with a weaker dollar,” he said last year. Other business leaders have also celebrated the currency’s fall because it boosts foreign revenue when converted back to dollars.
Big multinationals have reported “favourable currency impact” in earnings calls, with companies such as Philip Morris, Coca-Cola and hotel chains noting how a lower dollar improved overseas results. InterContinental Hotels CEO Elie Maalouf said in February that “we’ve got a weaker dollar, which is not unhelpful,” as the company posted higher profits and revenue.
But the benefits aren’t universal. Most US businesses serve domestic customers and can be hurt if they rely on imported inputs. Travis Madeira, a fourth-generation lobsterman and cofounder of LobsterBoys, says about 80% of his sales are to Americans. He’s paying more to import bait and buy Canadian lobsters, and sees exporters gaining an advantage from the weaker dollar.
Smaller firms often feel currency moves more painfully than large multinationals, which can hedge or shift sales abroad. David Navazio, CEO of Gentell, which manufactures medical supplies with plants in Brazil, Paraguay, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, says the dollar’s fall raised costs in each location. Gentell has had to raise some prices to reflect currency swings on top of tariffs and higher fuel costs—changes that ultimately hurt consumers.
For travelers and shoppers buying directly from foreign sellers, the weaker dollar is especially visible. For example, the dollar is about 16% weaker versus the Mexican peso compared with early 2025. Similar declines of roughly 10%–17% have occurred against the euro, Swiss franc, Danish krone, Swedish krona and South African rand.
When it comes to imported goods, economists generally estimate only about 5%–10% of a currency depreciation is passed through to consumer prices in advanced economies like the US. Still, even partial pass-through can add up alongside other price pressures. Coffee illustrates the effect: Brazil, the largest coffee supplier to the US, saw the dollar fall about 13% versus the real. While only some of that change filters into retail prices, coffee in the US is up nearly 19% over the past year.
Currency values constantly move, and the dollar has been higher and lower at various presidential terms since the Dollar Index began in 1973. Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff, a former IMF chief economist, says many of Trump’s policies weaken the dollar, but he also believes the currency’s fall was likely regardless of who was president after a roughly 15-year bull run. Rogoff suggests the dollar could drop another 15% over the next five to six years, a shift that would tend to raise commodity prices—especially given factors like the Iran war’s effect on fuel.
In short, a weaker dollar lifts revenues for global corporations and exporters but raises costs for import-reliant firms, small businesses and consumers—showing up in travel budgets, groceries and everyday items.