Smart Weekly Currency Note - 30th January 2009

Smart Currency Exchange - Weekly Currency Rates for Overseas Property Buyers

Weekly Currency Interbank Exchange Rates 30th January 2009

Currency Rate Last Week Rate This Week EURO 1.061 1.128 US$ 1.364 1.442 CAN$ 1.701 1.784 AUS$ 2.090 2.266 NZD 2.586 2.845 AED 5.015 5.295 CHF 1.586 1.676 ZAR(Rand) 14.031 14.737 Charles's Thoughts: Sterling has had a good week. It started positively when the Chairman and CEO of Barclays Bank wrote an open letter to the market saying they were doing better than the market thought. This brought a bit of stability to the UK financial market which is a key part of the UK economy. Then the International Monetary Fund weighed in saying that of all industrialised nations the UK was likely to suffer the greatest recession due to this dependence on finance. The rest of the week showed sterling gain steadily against most currencies which seemed to stem from disquiet elsewhere rather than what was happening here. I think we are still in stormy waters for sterling, e.g. Honda start their 4 month shut down on Monday, so I would suggest people don't get their hopes up for significant strengthening in the short term. The US$ has lost a bit of ground against sterling. The new President has been working hard to get his stimulus programme accepted by the both Congress and the Senate. It is sorely needed as US economic output contracted 3.8% in the last quarter of 2008, the biggest contraction for 26 years. Still one significant benefit is that the US$ is viewed as a safe haven currency and as such I don't see it losing significant ground against sterling in the short term. Euro land suffered the most. Riots in the streets of Paris as the populous view the treatment of banks as unfair and preferential. Various countries increasing their rhetoric as to whether or not they should stick with the euro. When times are good one size can fit all. In times like these governments want/need more direct control over their monetary policy. However for euro land this is controlled centrally by the European Central Bank who have to look at the overall economy which means that Germany balances out, say Spain or Italy. So a week of weakness for the euro against sterling. Are there any more high yielding currencies given the New Zealand's governments cut in interest rates by 1.5% this week. If there are I suspect they are not worth holding. The New Zealand is going to be under pressure following this cut. 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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