ECB pump unlikely to move US

New York

FOR US investors and tourists especially, the long-awaited move by the European Central Bank on Thursday to help stimulate growth on the Continent is welcome news. For the rest of the US economy, it will not matter so much.

Even if the ECB's effort is ultimately successful and the eurozone emerges from the business equivalent of hibernation - hardly a certainty - that added growth is unlikely to move the US economic needle.

A pickup in economic activity in Europe might increase demand for American products. But the stronger dollar undercuts the competitiveness of US exporters, since their goods will become more expensive for European consumers as the euro drops against the dollar.

The weaker euro, though, is good news for Americans with plans to visit Europe as the spring and summer travel season arrives in a few months, said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. Spending on hotels, meals and taxis will be cheaper as dollars have greater spending power in the 19 countries where the euro is the official curr…