Currency Rates

EURO/GBP - 1.156
US$/GBP - 1.615
CHF/GBP - 1.697
CAN/GBP - $1.718
AUS$/GBP - 1.807


Comments: Sterling hit the €1.16/£1 level for a short time yesterday but slid below US$1.61/£1 against the US dollar. A report out first thing this morning showed that UK house prices gained for a fourth consecutive month, rising 7.3% from the previous year. Whilst this may seem positive, many commentators believe that the rise is due to a lack of supply (lack of new builds and sellers reluctant to sell at discounted prices) rather than a boom in demand. Overall though, sterling continues to benefit from being a more attractive place to invest than the euro zone as fears continue over Greece and the deficit.

Euro zone unemployment came in at a record high of 10.1% which caused the currency to weaken against sterling. In addition, whilst Greece managed to borrow almost €20bn at the start of the week through a bond issue, rumours were circulating that Greece had attempted to sell large amounts of the debt to China. This was cause for concern as it would in effect be an indirect ‘bailout’ by another country and would point to desperation from the Greek government. China naturally steered clear citing distrust of the true economic figures – an issue which is compounding Greece’s problems. Bloomberg stated than an alleged culture of bribery and tax evasion in the country will further affect the economy as the tax increases that are needed will not be as effective.

Stating that - now is a good time to consider buying euros as it hit a 5 month high (yesterday) and there’s not much on the horizon to push it higher. Give your Smart Trader a ring to discuss further.

Globally, stock markets fell yesterday after higher than expected US unemployment and losses at several major technology companies dented expectations of recovery. This risk aversion strengthened the US dollar and Japanese yen (both ‘safe haven’ currencies). The big news today is the US GDP figure and this is expected to be relatively strong despite the Fed remaining cautious over it’s growth expectations for the country – either way we are likely to see some volatility.

So – is now a good time to buy? Well - anything above 1.60 is quite good given the fact that expectation suggest it should be in the 1.50’s so now’s a good time to consider buying dollars. Give your Smart Trader a ring for more information on the US dollar.

Elsewhere, New Zealand’s trade deficit dropped to the lowest level for 7 years. The figures suggested that this was due to lower domestic demand rather than anything external. In Australia, loans to the private sector jumped by 1.5% unexpectedly. However, the market remained unconvinced that this will lead to a rate rise next month.

The Australian dollar could go either way so it might be good to wait until we see what happens when the interest rate announcement is made.

Remember to minimise the chance of losing money due to adverse movements in the markets by speaking to a currency specialist as early as possible. Call 0207 898 0541 or email Carl@SmartCurrencyExchange.com

Note: All rates are mid market inter bank and indicative at the point of publication.

To get an initial estimate of the cost of a property simply DIVIDE the price of the property by the appropriate currency rate noted above.