| Currency | Rate Last
Week | Rate This
Week | | EURO | 1.273 | 1.252 | | US$ | 1.979 | 1.969 | | CAN$ | 1.968 | 2.004 | | AUS$ | 2.071 | 2.049 | | NZD | 2.524 | 2.570 | | AED | 7.268 | 7.243 | | CHF | 2.066 | 2.015 | | ZAR(Rand) | 15.042 | 15.465 | Charles's Thoughts: No major movements for sterling this week, losing a bit of ground against some currencies and gaining a bit of ground against others. The Bank of England met and decided to keep interest rates on hold. This was very much as expected. The BOE's choices are somewhat limited as UK inflation is way above target but at the same time the UK economy is suffering. Once we see inflation start to pull back it is expected that the BOE will start to cut interest rates. Strangely this may be good for sterling as it will show that the prime objective is get the UK economy going again. The US$ had a reasonable week. The US has the same problems as the UK, high inflation and a weakening economy. However, following comments from the Fed chief on how the weakness of the US$ had gone too far and had increased US inflation the US$ gained ground. It was highly unusual for the Fed chief to make such a comment. I think such comments had a short term benefit. I'm not so sure longer term. The European Central Bank also met this week and kept Euro land interest rates on hold. Again, this was as expected. However, the twist from the ECB was that were considering an increase in Euro land interest rates given the level of inflation. The trouble with Euro land is that there is a wide range of economic performance. Some countries, such as Germany are doing okay whereas others, such as Spain, have real problems. One size does not fit all. I suspect an increase in Euro land interest rates will be counter productive The New Zealand dollar lost a bit of ground as it appears that the next move in New Zealand interest rates will be down as inflation comes under control and the economy needs to be helped. 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: "Thank you for making our currency transactions go so smoothly. As promised, our account was opened within hours. Your trading team were pleasant and efficient, and each transaction was very much at the exchange rate I expected...ie not a million miles away from the inter-bank rates and certainly much better than my high street bank could quote. All in all, an easy experience and we will have absolutely no hesitation in recommending your services to any of our friends buying property abroad." Ian Pritchard 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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