Americans hoping to save on European goods thanks to a falling euro shouldn’t rush to uncork that bottle of French Bordeaux. There’s very little to celebrate. Unless you like travel deals.

Not since September 2003 has the euro traded this low against the dollar. Still, German sports cars, Belgian beers and the latest fashions out of Italy aren’t going on sale anytime soon. The reason? There’s simply too much demand in the US for any markdowns.

“The US economy is the one that’s doing well in the world right now,” notes IHS senior principal economist George Magliano. “We’ve got a lot of growth in upper-income families and households.”

Since Americans are willing — and able — to spend heavily on imported goods, there’s no need for companies to cut prices. Any savings thanks to the euro’s decline will instead be pocketed by manufacturers and distributors.

It’s been a dramatic fall for the euro. Back in April, the European currency was trading at 1.38 dollars to the euro. That means that one dollar bought you about 72 euro cents.

Now the exchange rate is hovering around 1.13 dollars to the euro, so one dollar buys you 88 euro cents. The euro extended its slide against the dollar late last month, dropping more than two percent against the US dollar, after the European Central Bank pledged to spend 1.1 trillion euros on bond purchases to help revive the region’s flagging economy.

The problem for Americans: we don’t buy enough European goods, except for high-end products. Our clothes might come from Bangladesh or Costa Rica. Our furniture from China. And our cars — even foreign brands like Honda — are mostly made at home.
The one bright spot for Americans: vacations to Europe are now much cheaper. Thanks to the currency shift, travelers will pay less for hotel rooms, museum admissions, and meals out.

“It’s basically a 20-percent-off sale on the whole eurozone for Americans,” says Adam Goldstein, CEO and co-founder of airfare search site Hipmunk.

There are 19 countries that use the euro. So those considering deals should look at Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

“This is the best time to travel to Europe in years,” says Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel. “Americans can now indulge in a fancy pastry and chocolat chaud without the budget-busting guilt.’’