Weââ¬â¢ve seen a tumultuous couple of weeks in the
Eurozone, as the ongoing problems in Greece appear to have no end in
sight. Lack of preparation for those transferring money abroad could result in huge financial losses.
It is generally agreed that European nations need to accept
austerity measures in order to prevent collapse, and with an openly
anti-austerity party gaining power in France, and several anti-austerity
parties making gains in the (unresolved) Greek elections, it seems as
if the Eurozoneââ¬â¢s troubles are only just beginning. However, these
worries now seem to be causing ripples beyond nations that employ the
single currency. With the Eurozone holding its breath for Greece’s
election in mid-June, it seems unlikely the Euro is going to see any
significant growth for the next month.
Concerns about the
Eurozone as a whole are causing people to move away from currencies seen
as being ‘close’ to the European currency, such as sterling, and move to
less ‘risky’ currencies such as the US dollar. This caused sterling to
fall to two month lows against the American currency yesterday, giving
us the lowest rates for transferring money to the USA that weââ¬â¢ve seen since March.
Sterling’s
case wasn’t helped by the announcement that UK retail sales saw a
record fall of 2.3% in April, primarily caused by fuel sales being down
by 13.2%. This is especially shocking for the UK economy, seeing as
retail sales had, in fact, risen 2% in March, helped by panic buying of
petrol. The BoE policymakers yesterday said that they intended to
introduce further quantitive easing in the Euro crisis continued to
cause more chaos. Due to the ongoing problems with Greece, this seems
incredibly likely, and will almost certainly devalue sterling further.
Sterlingââ¬â¢s woes were furthered earlier today as the Office of National
Statistics announced their GDP figures, showing that the UK economy
shrank 0.3% in the first 3 months of the year.
Sir Mervyn King, governor
of the Bank Of England, also expressed concern that the extra bank
holidays caused by the Diamond Jubilee in June could reduce national
output. In more positive news, despite its own weakness, sterling
continues to remain strong against the euro, gaining a slight increase
in the rates for international payments to the eurozone.
The
US dollar has seen a relatively positive week, caused by the confusion
in the Eurozone. As the two major world currencies, the dollar and the
euro are essentially on a see-saw. If one gets weaker, the other gets
stronger. In this case, the ongoing weakness of the euro is causing the
dollar to reach higher and higher.
There
is alot of speculation in the media concerning Greece completely
falling out of the euro, or even the EU entirely. European council
President Herman Van Rumpuy has stated that he wants Greece to remain in
the Eurozone, but would respect its commitments if it chooses not to.
The markets themselves seem to be in a state of disagreement over
whether or not Greece leaving the Euro would be a positive move for the
zone as a whole. On one hand, cutting out what is doubtless the weakest
member of the currency would stop the rest of the EU being dragged down
with it, and prevent any further massive bailout packages. On the other
hand, Greece leaving the Euro would make the currency look weaker on the
international stage, causing investors to move even further away from
it.
In these troubling times of economic woe, it is important to know that youââ¬â¢re sending money overseas using a currency broker
that can give you the best rates available. Anybody looking to transfer
money overseas, or keep up to date with the latest currency news,
should register with a currency broker to help minimise their exposure
to volatile exchange rates. Failiure to seek the right advice could cost thousands more when transferring money abroad.
Free currency quote and advice
Author: Steven Walsh
Sales Executive
Tel: 0800 043 2623
DDI: 01923 725 727
