| Currency | Rate Last
Week | Rate This
Week | | EURO | 1.434 | 1.443 | | CY£ | 0.830 | 0.837 | | US$ | 2.041 | 2.040 | | CAN$ | 2.034 | 2.005 | | AUS$ | 2.303 | 2.271 | | NZD | 2.694 | 2.676 | | CHF | 2.381 | 2.403 | | ZAR(Rand) | 14.048 | 13.997 | Charles's Thoughts: Sterling has had a steady week against the Euro and the US$ but lost ground against the commodity backed currencies of Canada and Australia. The Bank of England met this week and UK interest rates were kept on hold. This was as expected. The trouble with the BOE is that it takes a couple of weeks for the minutes of the meeting to be released which means that we are unsure how the 9 members voted and unclear on how they view the current economic climate. Are they still worried about inflation or are they worried about the economy slowing too quickly? We will have to wait and see. Thankfully there has been no further fall out from Northern Rock Bank. The US$ has hovered around the US$2.04 level. Relatively good news today with US non farm employment figures being above expectations for September. July and August figures were also revised upwards. This is being taken as an indication that a possible US recession is unlikely. However, one of the major problems for the US is that the US deficit is being funded by short term money and as such very susceptible to liquidity problems. The reduced US interest rates have compounded the problem. The Euro has continued to weaken albeit slightly. The European Central Bank kept the Euro interest rates on hold. This was as expected but unlike the BOE they do "talk" to the market at the same time as making the announcement. The language used by the ECB has led the market to believe that Euro interest rates are unlikely to be raised in the next few months if at all. Also there has been a lot of talk in the press about the strength of the Euro relative to the US$ really beginning to hurt Euro land exporters. Difficult to assess the effect overall but again it supports the view that Euro land interest rates are on hold for a while. Still feels like a good time to bring back funds to the UK The commodity backed currencies of Canada and Australia gained against sterling as their respective economies showed themselves to be robust and on the up. However I suspect there is not much further upside as we are close to long term highs. Why is Currency Management So Important? Using a bank could cost you £3-4,000 per £100,000 transferred. Buying at the "wrong" time could cost you many £'000's more as rates can move as much as 3% in a very short period of time. Then add in transfer costs that the banks charge for sending and receiving funds and you could be looking at additional costs of £10,000 per £100,000 transferred. By developing a currency strategy and by working with a specialist currency broker these losses could be minimised if not eliminated. Smart Client Testimonial: "Professional and dependable service. Takes all the worry and stress out of the currency transfers. Once we make the call we can relax! Thank you." David & Margaret Owen, Manchester If you haven't opened a Smart account yet, call me on freephone 0808 163 0102 or fill out our online Account Form at: http://www.SmartCurrencyExchange.com/application.htm How much will a Property Cost? To estimate the cost of a property simply DIVIDE the price of the property by the appropriate currency rate noted above. But note this is based on the inter bank rate so the actual cost will be slightly more. 
Charles Purdy
Smart Resources Currency Strategy Worksheet
Need help creating a Currency Strategy? Download our Currency Strategy Worksheet:
http://www.smartcurrencyexchange.com/downloads/CurrencyStrategyWorksheet.pdf Currency Report
Have your read our 10-page Currency Report that outlines the top 3 mistakes that overseas buyers make when exchanging and transferring their money overseas? Get the report here:
http://www.SmartCurrencyExchange.com/downloads/ThreeMistakes.pdf Currency Quotation
Are you interested in a currency rate for Euros, US$'s, CYP, NZD, or any other currency, please fill out our Smart quotation form at: http://www.SmartCurrencyExchange.com/smartquotation.htm
| 
