| Currency | Rate Last
Week | Rate This
Week | | EURO | 1.339 | 1.337 | | US$ | 1.945 | 1.963 | | CAN$ | 1.938 | 1.959 | | AUS$ | 2.176 | 2.163 | | NZD | 2.471 | 2.485 | | AED | 7.140 | 7.208 | | CHF | 2.148 | 2.142 | | ZAR(Rand) | 15.180 | 15.030 | Charles's Thoughts: Sterling again held the middle ground. The Governor of the Bank of England highlighted the problem of rising costs and a faltering UK economy. UK Inflation could be as high as 3% by year end whereas the target is 2%. As a result, the market has reduced its expectations for further reductions in interest rates for the rest of the year by 0.25%. I still believe sterling is oversold [i.e. sterling should strengthen over the medium term but the reality could be a lot different] but beware if there is another major shock like Northern Rock as we would see sterling slide rapidly. The US$ lost ground against sterling. The Fed Chief highlighted the fact that US economic conditions were poor and that further US interest rates cuts were a distinct possibility. This was on the back of better than expected US retail figures for January. The problems the US has with bad debts on property are huge. A recent programme highlighted how the property boom had been a gravy train for all, including the house owners who got large "cash back" payments when buying their property and seem to have limited liability when they have walked away from their properties/mortgages. The bad debts must end up somewhere! Euro land cannot defy gravity and be an economic wonderland as all around is failing. It is very dependent on the US and UK as trading partners and as they suffer Euro land will begin to suffer. Interest rates were held by the European Central Bank. Germany saw a rebound business confidence albeit from historic lows. The Euro has a feeling of a safe haven currency at the moment and offering a reasonable yield but I continue to wonder how long this will last. Strength for a number of commodity backed currencies especially the Australian $ which continues to benefit from high interest. Australian unemployment is also at record lows. 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: "Recent transaction was completed very efficiently. The process was well explained, all questions answered with confidence. The process was very simple to follow with excellent feedback throughout the process. Plus a great rate of exchange was provided. I will definitely use the service again" John Derek Thompson 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
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