Apple Inc. has announced a price increase of its apps and in-app purchases in Europe and Asia as a measure to safeguard its profit margins as other currencies have weakened against the U.S. dollar.
In a statement to app developers on Monday, Apple
AAPL,
said users in territories using the euro as well as countries such as Chile, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, Vietnam, will see the price hike as early as Oct 5.
In Vietnam, the tech giant chalked the increase down to new tax collection regulations but Apple didn’t say why it was increasing the price elsewhere.
But the U.S. dollar
DXY,
has rallied against its international counterparts, impacting Apple’s revenue abroad.
The euro
EURUSD,
fell below parity with the dollar last month, down to its lowest level in 20 years. In the year to date, the currency has dropped 12% and was trading at $1.0011 on Tuesday morning.
The Japanese yen
USDJPY,
has fallen 20% against the dollar so far this year.
This is not the first move from Apple to protect itself from a weakening dollar. At the start of the month, the company froze the price of its iPhone 14 when it unveiled the new phone in the U.S. to bolster demand from American consumers. However the case is not the same elsewhere; the iPhone 14 will cost more in the U.K. — up to £150 ($172) more — and Europe.
Shares were down 0.5% in pre-market trading on Tuesday at $153.88.
Apple’s stock has seen rises in recent days, despite it being the most shorted U.S stock.
On Monday, shares in Apple traded 2.5% higher.
