The bank holiday has brought some sunshine to the UK at last, and the Pound has also been basking in good rates for those of you sending money abroad. The Euro in particular has been held at cheaper levels by the European Central Bank’s decision last week to cut interest rates in the single currency area, which as regular readers will know usually weakens a currency’s value. The Euro has not been cheaper since January.
In the USA, the Dollar was not affected too much by Friday’s better-than-expected employment figures, and rates for sending USD, as well as pegged currencies such as AED, remain around their best since February.
There have also been improvements in rates for sending South African Rand, Australian Dollars, and Canadian Dollars in the last week.
Focus this week moves to the Bank of England. The monthly policy announcement on Thursday is unlikely to bring much change to British monetary policy, but any further rumours of Quantitative Easing will be likely to bring grey clouds back to the UK economic outlook. The surprisingly good recent GDP figures are also subject to revision in the coming weeks, so the Pound is unlikely to be surging ahead just yet.
With all this in mind we think most exchange rates are good value at the moment for those of you sending money abroad. There is little other data out this week so we might expect a quiet week on the markets – as always though there is crystal ball and caution may be wise in the current climate.
If you would like to take advantage of any movements in your favour, simply call Simon Eastman (01923 725725)
