The US Dollar/iPod Index

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2007/10/the-us-dollarip.html

The US Dollar/iPod Index


Wednesday, October 10, 2007 | 03:18 PM
in Currency | Inflation | Technology

This is an amusing way to look at the US Dollar: How much iPod nano does the US dollar buy around the world? <blockquote>
Just over 20 years ago, The Economist magazine launched an index based
on a McDonalds hamburger – the Big Mac index – a practical way of
assessing whether a particular currency was under or over-valued
against other currencies. It was launched as a light-hearted approach
to exchange rate theory, but has had a good track record in predicting
the direction of currencies.

· The Big Mac index has some limitations, one being that hamburgers
cannot be traded across countries. Additionally, the Big Mac index is
updated only irregularly. So, in the same spirit as the Big Mac index,
CommSec has compiled the iPod index – a comparison of prices for the
popular iPod nano music player across the world. Results released today
showed that Apple sold 21 million iPods in the past quarter.

· The CommSec iPod index is a similarly light-hearted approach to
assess currency movements. And while the initial results are at odds
with many analysts, we will have to wait and see. The index suggests
that the US dollar has potential to appreciate against a range of major
currencies, with the Aussie dollar around 15 per cent over-valued
against the greenback.

-ComSec

</blockquote>
2 gigabytes, US dollars
January 2007










Country
Price




Brazil
$327.71



India
$222.27



Sweden
$213.03



Denmark
$208.25



Belgium
$205.81



France
$205.80



Finland
$205.80



Ireland
$205.79



UK
$195.04



Austria
$192.86




Netherlands
$192.86



Spain
$192.86



Italy
$192.86



Germany
$192.46




China
$179.84



Korea
$176.17



Switzerland
$175.59



NZ
$172.53



Australia
$172.36



Taiwan
$164.88



Singapore
$161.25



Mexico
$154.46



USA
$149.00



Japan
$147.63



Hong Kong
$147.63



Canada
$144.20