The pound fell by well over 1% yesterday, reaching its lowest level against the US dollar since the start of the year and against the euro for months, as the fuel crisis started to bite on the economy.
That’s made a €175,000 property in Europe another £2,000 more expensive, in just one day.
Today it’s been reported that 25% of taxi drivers are sitting idle, the hospitality, entertainment and retail industries are being hit, and fuel prices are rocketing even for those who can get petrol.
Whatever the reason for the problems, it all highlights, as did the toilet roll and pasta shortages of the start of the pandemic, that it’s not just about hoarding and panic buying. Both business and individuals work on tight margins and supply lines.
You can see the same factor at play with the container megaships queuing up outside the port of Los Angeles, the Suez Canal blockage and a hundred other apparently small problems that are magnified by poor planning.
Currency, thankfully, is not running out. But the case for forward planning and protection from sudden shocks is just as strong.
When buying a property abroad, it is highly risky to leave talking to a currency expert too late, or to leave the rate to whatever it happens to be when you complete.
That is why we urge anyone with a large transaction approaching – however far off – to talk to their trader on 020 8003 4915 and consider fixing their rate.
Sterling could well lose more. Yesterday we lost just over 1% but over the course of a property purchase it could be very much more.
