As the Eurozone debt crisis continues to dominate the
news headlines, the currency markets have remained volatile. Whether you are sending money to Cape
Verde to buy a property, or transferring US Dollars back to the UK from a
business transaction, it is worthwhile keeping updated with the latest news.
In the UK, we have had a mixed bag of data in the last
week. This morningââ¬â¢s public sector borrowing figures were better than expected,
with net borrowing down to ã6.5bn in October, from ã7.7bn a year earlier. Also
positive for the UK economy ââ¬â and the Pound ââ¬â were last weekââ¬â¢s
retail sales figures. However, unemployment was worse than expected, and with
inflation falling back a little the Bank of England may be tempted to extend
quantitative easing (QE) in December, which would be likely to bring sterling
falling back again.
We have the minutes from the last Bank of England meeting
due out tomorrow morning.
In Europe, the new Greek, Spanish and Italian governments
have not calmed bond markets as much as was hoped, and the Euro has stayed
relatively weak, giving the best Euro rates since around March if you are
sending payment across to the single currency zone. The Euro is tipped to strengthen
(lower exchange rates) when Greece finally ratifies the bailout deal, although
with Spanish debt now more expensive than Italian bonds, the crisis may not
have yet reached its peak.
The European Central Bank also cut interest rates earlier
this month, which helps to keep the currency cheap.
The weak Euro has made US Dollars relatively more
expensive, despite reported problems in the US government where their own debt
reduction programme has been encountering its own problems.
The main currencies where exchange rates have continues
to improve have been the Australian and New Zealand dollar, and South African
Rand. Sending
payments to New Zealand is now at its cheapest since April, as investors
have tended to move away from the less-traded currencies in times of trouble;
another reason why the US Dollar has been gaining in value. For South Africa,
we have the best exchange rate for sending South African
Rand since mid-2009.
If you have
payments to make to or from the UK in other currencies, visit the HomesGoFast FX enquiry page
and we will put you in touch with an FSA regulated currency partner who will be
able to help you save time and money compared to using your bank.
