Best Exchange Rates for EUR, USD, NZD, AUD, ZAR

Friday 14th February 2014
Sterling exchange rates have held on to the gains made earlier in the week, due to the Bank of England comments that I talked about in my last post. We are now at multi-year highs against many currencies, so it's a great time to need to convert Pounds to another currency.

Today, I'm going to have a look at some of the most widely traded currencies, including charts to show how the rate has moved over the last 3 months, and the forecast for whether exchange rates will go up or down during 2014.

Sterling/Euro 

Rates to buy Euros with Pounds are around the best they have been for over a year. This is due to the strong UK economy. Even data today that showed the Eurozone is growing at a faster rate than expected did little to dent the rate, and we remain around €1.22. 

It's hit these levels several times over the last few months only to drop away again. Whether that will happen again, or if these levels will now be sustained remains to be seen. The BoE hinted this week that it’s not happy with rates being too high, so one danger is they will try to weaken Sterling should it rise much further. 

Euro buyers should consider a Stop Loss order to protect against a downturn, but should the market keep rising you can still take advantage. Personally I expect the rate to go up further as the year goes on, but not until the summer when I expect it to be around the €1.25 level. 

Click here to get a EUR quote

Sterling/US Dollar 

The current rate to buy Dollars is the best in nearly 3 years. Again Sterling strength is part of the story, but the USD weakening in recent months has also had an impact. 

I don’t expect rates to keep rising against the US Dollar. The US economy is slowly starting to follow the UK in building back towards sustainable growth. So at this continues, the USD will likely gather strength which would pull the rate lower. So if you need to buy USD, consider locking the rate in while it is so good. 

Click here to get a USD quote 

Sterling /Australian Dollar 

Only last year the GBP/AUD rate was at a 20 year low, however has risen over 20% in value since then which is remarkable. Right now the rate is the best it’s been in over 4 years. Again the Pound is strong which has helped, but most of the gains have been due to the AUD weakening. 

They have cut interest rates recently, may do so again, and the fact China’s economy has slowed down quite a bit has meant that there is less demand by them for Australia’s raw materials which are a huge export. Given the huge increase in the rate, I can’t see it going that much higher in the short to medium term. If China’s economy picks up again, expect the rate to drop back away. 

If I needed to buy AUD any time soon, I would look at the charts and think that going from a 30 year low to a 4 year high is no bad thing, and would want to put some protection in place to make sure I don’t lose out. 

Click here to get a AUD quote 

Sterling/New Zealand Dollar 

GBP/NZD sits around $2 to the Pound at the moment. We haven’t seen the same trends we’ve seen with the Aussie, due to the fact the NZD hasn’t weakened as much as they don’t export raw materials like Australia. 

Despite this, the rate is still around the best it’s been in 18 months, and 10% higher than last year. We’ve not seen much of an increase recently, and I can’t see it going much above 2% as New Zealand has much higher interest rates than us. 

Click here to get a NZD quote 

Sterling/South African Rand 

GBP/ZAR has risen in value by 45% in the last 4 years. That is not a typo! Back in 2011 rates were just above 10 rand to the Pound; right now it’s over 18 to the Pound. It’s only hit these sorts of levels twice in the last 13 years.

The Rand has weakened enormously in recent years due to a big drop in mining, political problems, and investors looking elsewhere to emerging markets. 

 If I needed rand, a 45% increase in value is all I would really need to know – of course it may go higher still, but why hold out for an inch and risk losing a mile. 

Click here to get a ZAR quote 

Do you need competitive exchange rates?

The above is a quick snapshot of my view of some main currencies I can offer. I trade nearly all major currencies such as EUR, USD, JPY, CHF, CAD, NZD, AUD, ZAR, HUF, DKK, SEK, AED, SGD, THB, CNY, PLN to name just a few. 

If you are looking for the best exchange rates, you can get in touch with me for a free quote. Usually the rates I can offer you are up to 5% better than the banks can offer. 

So contact me today to have a brief chat regarding the currency pair you are interested in, and I can explain how my service works and the rates I can offer. Even if you currently use a broker elsewhere, taking a few minutes to compare the rates on offer can save you a significant sum. 

Click here to send me a free no obligation enquiry. 

Have a great weekend. 

Alastair Archbold

Will Pound/Euro rise or fall in 2014?

Monday 6th January 2014 
Good afternoon everybody and welcome to a new year. I am back in action today with regular updates on exchange rates. For new readers, this blog is updated several times per week with an outline of what is happening with exchange rates. This should prove useful for anyone following the currency markets that needs to buy or sell foreign currency, perhaps when buying or selling abroad or for example business’s that import or export to other countries. 

In addition to my blog providing currency updates and foreign exchange forecasts, I can also help you source exchange rates up to 5% better than you can achieve at banks and other financial institutions through the company I work for. If you are interested in getting a quote or would like to find out more, click here to send me a free no obligation enquiry. 

So what has been happening with exchange rates so far in 2014? 

It’s been a relatively muted start to the year. Pound/Euro rates remain a little above €1.20 which is around the highest in a year, and Pound/Dollar rates remain just above $1.64 which is not far off the highest in several years. In my last post I outlined what had been happening last year that had caused rates to rise to the current highs. 

So far this year, the Pounds rise seems to have ended. On the first working day of the year we saw some disappointing Manufacturing figures that pulled Sterling lower, but Construction figures impressed and this brought things back to where they were. Today has been relatively quiet on the markets, with a mix of data from Germany that weakened the Euro a little, but not by much. 

So today I will list the remaining data releases this week that I think will affect exchange rates. Remember if you would like to get a free quote or discuss your requirement with me for free, you can send me a free enquiry by clicking here. 

This week’s data that could affect exchange rates. 

Tuesday 7th January 2014 

There aren’t any releases from the UK today, so those looking at Pound/Euro rates will be focusing on data from Europe. We have German Unemployment and Retail Sales, along with inflation data for the Eurozone as a whole. Better than expected figures would strengthen the Euro and pull GBP/EUR rates lower. Elsewhere US Trade Balance figures could affect Pound/Dollar rates. 

Wednesday 8th January 2014 

Again nothing of note from the UK. EU data today is Retail Sales and Unemployment data, and if the numbers differ from forecast, expect volatility in the Pound/Euro rate. In the USA we have Mortgage Approvals, Employment data, and minutes from the recent FED meeting where QE tapering was announced. 

Thursday 9th January 2014 

We finally get going with some news from the UK: firstly we have Trade Balance numbers which are very important for the economy, and so could affect the value of the Pound. At lunchtime we have the latest decision on QE and interest rates; I don’t expect any change, but any comments that accompany the announcement could have an effect on exchange rates. 

In the Eurozone we also have an interest rate decision, and I expect rates to stay on hold at 0.25%. Again as with the UK, in the press conference after the decision, any hint at a future rate cut could weaken the Euro and push GBP/EUR rates higher. We also see Consumer Confidence, Economic Sentiment, and Industrial confidence measures. We end the day with Jobless numbers from the United States. 

Friday 10th January 2014 

The only UK data of note today is Industrial and Manufacturing Production numbers released at 09.30am. We also have a GDP estimate from the National Institute for Economic and Social research. The most recent estimate was 0.8% - anything above this will cause the Pound to rise, and vice versa. Today we also see US Non-Farm payrolls – the actual figure is usually quite different to the forecast, as it’s so hard to predict, and therefore causes swings in the GBP/USD rate. 

• Looking for the best exchange rates? 
• Want to know if your rate will go up or down this year? 
• Unsure when to go ahead and fix a rate? 
• Keen to get a quote to compare with your bank or existing broker? 

Click here to send me a free no obligation enquiry now and I can get in touch to discuss any of the above with you to help you decide what to do. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Alastair Archbold