The pound continued its very slow drift lower against the US dollar and euro on Friday.
The causes are so complicated – based around the US economy and interest rates – and the drop so minor that it’s probably a day for seeing the bigger picture.
Which is that sterling is 2.75% stronger than this time last month against the dollar and nearly 1.5% stronger against the euro.
This is also, with the school holidays out of the way, a popular time to go and look for property overseas. It’s also not a bad time to consider moving overseas too, especially if you’ve looked at the weather forecast lately.
If you are making that big move or purchase, this is the time to call your account manager, on 020 8108 5163. The pound is still riding high, but there is a lot happening this week and it could be the time to fix today’s rate with a forward contract.
We’ve seen sharp market movements for the dollar following US employment market data lately and tomorrow the UK’s own unemployment and earnings data comes out at 7am. Then on Wednesday there is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data and on Thursday it’s an interest rate decision from Europe.
All are potentially damaging to sterling, which has been unable to rise much above its present position against the euro since the Brexit vote in 2016 but has certainly been considerably lower.
This will be an interesting week, building up to the Bank of England’s own interest rate decision on the 19th September. It is well worth considering your own position and how much risk you want to take with your money.
It’s also less than three weeks to go until the Your Overseas Home Virtual Event, the online show for anyone buying or moving overseas. It’s an incredibly useful day where you can get all your questions answered about buying in or moving to Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and the USA. You can speak to trusted estate agents, property lawyers, visa specialists and others, attend webinars, personal apppointments and just dip in an out all day. Get more details here.
See you there.
