In an alarming trend that has many economists puzzled and many Forex traders happy as clams, the US Dollar has continued to slide down against all the other major currencies of the world. The US dollar has continued to lose value to the Euro (EUR), The Japanese Yen (JPY), the Swiss Franc (CHF) and the Canadian Dollar (CDN). Today’s loss has the US Dollar almost even with the Canadian Dollar, with the CAD trading at a bid of 0.9991 and ask of 0.9995 versus the USD. See the charts below for the US dollar’s performance versus the other currencies over the last year.

Meanwhile, oil prices climbed to new record highs on global markets Thursday, as concerns about limited supplies were heightened by a storm threatening Gulf of Mexico oil-drilling installations. New York’s main futures contract, crude oil for delivery in October, jumped 1.39 dollars to close at 83.32 dollars a barrel. The contract expired at the close. The price of New York crude oil has hit a series of record peaks in recent days, including Wednesday after the US Department of Energy stated crude oil reserves had tumbled last week, signaling possible global supply shortages.

What does all this mean to the average American, we’ll it means our dollars have less values and we will be paying more at the pump in the coming months. Added with the tumbling mortgage and housing markets and the lackluster performance of the US Stock Market, it looks like sure signs of a recession and apparently the economy isn’t in quite as good of shape as the White House and President would have us believe. Let’s not forget we have an incredible surmounting debt due to the fact we’re fighting wars in two countries at the moment which will be a huge drain on this countries resources.

While this all might sound like a gloom and doom scenario, the smart investors and traders are plying their best methods to find advantages in this spiralling US economy. While the picture may look bleak for people holding onto 401k’s and long term investments for retirement, those who are more liquid in their assets are taking finding incredible deals, particularly on investment property. Currency traders who hedge themselves against the US dollar are also experiencing sustained trading profits and daytraders are riding the panic buying and selling waves like Mark Richards rode waves at Hawaii’s North Shore.

In all major markets this is really a Bullish scenario and to survive you have to hit and hit hard and don’t look back. Bearish investors are biting their nails watching each days returns hoping their long term strategies work out but if you want to play with the big dogs you have to have more than a bark, you need to have a bite.