By Michael Jacobsen
Since Monday, the Pound has held onto its strongest position against the Euro in over a year. There is great momentum in the market right now, making it a fantastic time for anyone looking to convert Pounds into Euros to secure more value for their money. This prolonged strength is driven by the Bank of England keeping interest rates higher than Europe, alongside ongoing political and financial worries across the Eurozone that are keeping the Euro under pressure.
Over Monday and Tuesday buying rates have remained steady at these high levels as investors actively recalibrated their positions. While this is excellent news for property buyers, it does mean that anyone selling an overseas property to bring funds back to the UK will see the exchange rate work slightly against them compared to earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar has gone up across the board due to strong inflation data out of America and safe-haven demand from rising global tensions.
Looking ahead to the rest of the week, the markets are preparing for a much busier data schedule that could cause rates to move quickly. The main event is Thursday’s release of the latest UK GDP figures (economic growth data), where a strong reading could cause the Pound to go up even further. On the other side, we will see a high-stakes speech from the head of the European Central Bank on Thursday evening and then Eurozone employment and GDP data on Friday morning. If Europe’s news surprises the market, the Euro could strengthen, causing the Pound to Euro exchange rate to go down.
With the Pound sitting near multi-month highs, timing is everything before this significant news is announced. Any clients with an upcoming property purchase or funds waiting to be transferred are encouraged to speak with us sooner rather than later to discuss exchanging funds and explore tools like forward contracts, which allow you to lock in this strong rate now and protect your budget. Contact one of our specialist currency consultants today to help remove market risk and make your money go further.