Sterling seems immune to good news at the moment. Game changing news on the Brexit deal and the Oxford vaccine approval – effectively a guaranteed end to the pandemic in just a few weeks’ time – have failed to move the market, and GBP/EUR is exactly in the same place as last week at around 1% below the end of November.
Sterling is doing a little better against the US dollar, at nearly 2% stronger than last month, but a quick look at the graph shows how nervy it all is, with strong daily swings.
Beyond the immediate awfulness of a weeks-long lockdown (or near lockdown) in the middle of winter, the news is all good.
So, what next?
This year has shown that people – and governments – find it hard to imagine and plan for radically different futures. Hence we were slow to lock down in the spring, to accept that a second wave would happen, slow to cancel Christmas…
Now, some may be slow to realise that this will all be over by Easter. Let’s hope that actors are beginning to rehearse for theatre openings, hotels are airing their beds, airlines are blowing cobwebs off aeroplanes.
It really is time to start planning for a new property abroad, before too much of the cash that has been saved in the lockdown pushes up prices.
Our partners at Property Guides have an excellent guide to planning your property viewing trip – download it free, here. And what a good way to pass the time instead of partying on New Year’s Eve!
Planning to fund that property purchase requires action too. The pound wasn’t boosted significantly because the financial markets took a more hard-headed attitude to risk and knew that a Brexit deal was more likely. But sterling may struggle to find support as Brexit kicks in.
Do talk to your trader about locking in today’s rate. They are working as normal today and tomorrow, on 020 8108 5337.
