Smart Weekly Currency Note - 1st May 2009

Smart Currency Exchange - Weekly Currency Rates for Overseas Property Buyers

Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 1st May 2009

Currency Rate Last Week Rate This Week EURO 1.107 1.122 US$ 1.471 1.488 CAN$ 1.781 1.767 AUS$ 2.039 2.041 NZD 2.571 2.615 AED 5.405 5.461 CHF 1.671 1.691 ZAR(Rand) 12.915 12.548 Charles's Thoughts: On a generally quiet week for economic data or developments the UK news headlines were instead dominated by events involving the potential swine-flu pandemic rather than the ongoing global recession. There have been some encouraging signs that sterling has now reached and returned from the bottom of its value on the currency markets. Prices have maintained recent improved levels despite a lack of supporting market data to support any substantial upturn in the economy other than the sustained increase in manufacturing over the last 3 months. The gains against the US$ is largely thanks to a general increase in risk appetite and an improved sentiment towards the global financial sector. Next week bares little to nothing more in terms of major economic data for sterling other than the Bank of England’s monthly decision on interest rates where the broad expectation will be for another hold at 0.5%. Major Euro-zone economic data was sparse this week and the figures which were released, such as German unemployment and inflation data, were much as expected. A positive week for European equities helped to increase confidence that perhaps the worst of the down-turn is behind Europe but this may well prove to be overly-optimistic. Next week we will see the European Central Bank’s (ECB) monthly decision on interest rates with a cut of 0.25 % on the cards. Persistent rumours of quantitive easing as a means to stimulate parts of the stalling Euro-zone economy have kept the euro under pressure recently so any mention of this in the accompanying statement with the decision on interest rates could prove to be damaging to the euro short/mid-term. The US$ suffered on the markets this week as a consequence of the increase in risk appetite and a poorer-than-expected result in Gross Domestic Product figures for the first quarter of 2009. News regarding the bankruptcy of the giant US car manufacturers Chrysler will certainly have contributed to the weekly losses for the US$. President Obama’s decision earlier in the year not to bail-out the chronically troubled car manufacturing industry in the US will now be re-visited as the honey-moon period of his term comes to an end and with it potentially the sense of hope and confidence that his arrival in office had initially brought. There were no major developments in the high-yield and/or commodity backed currencies. However sterling did reach multi-year lows against the South-African Rand and the Australian dollar this week mainly thanks to an increase in commodity demand worldwide. 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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