Sterling continues to suffer
The release of yesterdays Bank of England Quarterly Inflation report caused Sterling to plunge massively against all major currencies as the Governor Mervyn King admitted the UK is in a major recession as inflation and growth forecasts were slashed for 2009 and 2010.
After yesterdays post, the pound continued to fall throughout the day, and this morning rates on major currencies against Sterling are as follows:
- GBPEUR 1.1950
- GBPUSD 1.4975
- GBPAUD 2.3379
- GBPNZD 2.6646
Significantly, rates on the USD fell below $1.50 and on the EUR fell below €1.20. These are big losses, and are likely to continue, as forecasts for more rate cuts by the Bank of England are severe, with most quarters predicting a 1% cut in December.
With unemployment figures out yesterday also showing an eleven year high, and many senior political and economic figures warning of very tough times ahead, it would appear that anyone seriously looking at buying something such as a house abroad may do well to secure the current exchange rates to avoid the risk of any further losses either by a spot or forward contract.
Eurozone
Germany has entered a recession after government figures showed that the country’s economy contracted by 0.5% in the third quarter. This is the second consecutive quarter that the economy has shrunk after a 0.4% contraction in the second quarter.
The fall in economic output was greater than the 0.2% fall that many analysts had expected.
Last week, official figures showed that German industrial output fell 3.6% in September compared with August. This weakened the Euro, and is the only reason rates for GBPEUR are not even lower than they are.
Jobless data
The number of people out of work in the UK in the three months to September jumped by 140,000 to 1.82 million - the highest in 11 years. The unemployment rate rose to 5.8%, up from 5.4% in the previous quarter, according to official figures. These poor figures will simply componud the weak pound, and it is likely that unemployment will continue to rise as the UK suffers recession.
This is a brief summary of todays report. Click here to read the full report on our main website
If you are buying a property abroad, and want the best exchange rates, just click on the links below to go straight to our main site, or Email Me
GBP Sterling USD Dollar EUR Euro NZD Kiwi AUD Aussie DKK Krona CAD Loonie CHF Swiss ZAR Rand THB Baht HKD Dollar CZK Krona TRY Lira SEK Krona NOK Krona