Smart Weekly Currency Note - 15th May 2009

Smart Currency Exchange - Weekly Currency Rates for Overseas Property Buyers

Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 15th May 2009

Currency Rate Last Week Rate This Week EURO 1.118 1.124 US$ 1.509 1.525 CAN$ 1.748 1.786 AUS$ 1.984 2.019 NZD 2.529 2.589 AED 5.546 5.597 CHF 1.690 1.689 ZAR(Rand) 12.605 13.255 Charles's Thoughts: Even though the Bank of England pulled no punches on Wednesday in describing how difficult the next 18 months were going to be and that the UK economy was far from being out of the wood sterling gained against most currencies during the course of the week. Sterling gained support from better than expected retails sales for April, better than expected manufacturing output for March and a UK housing market survey that came in stronger than expected. However, it is still difficult to know how the government is going to fund their massive debts over the coming year(s) especially given the increase in taxes announced in the last budget which seemed to be counter productive in encouraging inward investment and as such I would suggest looking at any strength in sterling as a buying opportunity rather than the start of a prolonged move up. The US$ had a mixed week benefiting rather perversely from poor US retail figures and export figures which in theory encourages the buying of US$’s on safe haven status. All very strange to think of the US$ as a safe haven but people do probably because the rest of the world holds so many of them and can’t afford for them to depreciate too far. The stock markets have made great gains over the last two months and as such the market expects a pull back which may well make the US$ more attractive. The € held its own even on the back of the most appalling GDP figures released on Friday. The figures showed that euro land had contracted by 2.5% in the first quarter of this year on the back of a 1.6% contraction in the last quarter of last year. Germany leads the way with a fall in GDP in the first quarter of 4% which represents a fall of almost 7% in the last twelve months. I suspect more bad news is on the way but with so little good news elsewhere I can’t see sterling making great strides against the € short term. Commodity prices seem to be having a good run and as such this has buoyed the Canadian and Australian economies. However further cuts in interest rates are being mooted which could lead to short term weakness against sterling. 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 transactions go so smoothly. As promised, our account was opened within hours. Your traders 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 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 Smart Currency Exchange Limited

email: Charles@SmartCurrencyExchange.com free phone: 0808 163 0102 web: http://www.SmartCurrencyExchange.com

Smart Currency Exchange | 1 Lyric Square | Hammersmith | London | W6 0NB | UK © 2005-2009 Copyright  Smart Currency Exchange Ltd THIS PUBLICATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ADVICE WITHIN THE TERMS OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES ACT (OR ANY SUBSEQUENT REVISIONS, ADDITIONS, OR AMENDMENTS). Disclaimer Exchange rates can move very quickly. The above rates are the interbank rates and valid at a moment in time. The interbank rate is the rate at which the banks deal with each other in the foreign exchange markets. Suggestions should not be taken as advice or fact. The market does what it wants to do.  We have no crystal ball and as ever we suggest that if an exchange rate works for your budget then don't try and wait for an even better exchange rate, as Murphy's Law says the rate will go against you and cause you maximum trouble!

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