The pound to euro exchange rate succeeded in having its best week in almost nine months last week, experts have said. GBP’s boost to a two-week high on Friday came despite a dramatic plummet on Wednesday afternoon. Sterling continues to remain vulnerable amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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Greg Baggio, Head of Performance at WeSwap commented last week: “Across all markets, we’ve seen extreme volatility levels and the FX market is no different.
“Currency movements are not only driven by headlines on COVID 19’s progress, but also by the various governments and central banks’ decisions on interest rates and cash injections to support their economies.
“The ultimate question the markets are asking is, ‘How strong is a country going to come out of the crisis and will they be able to attract investment again?’”
The pound is currently trading at 1.1185 against the euro, according to Bloomberg at the time of writing.
Michael Brown, currency expert at international payments and foreign exchange firm Caxton FX, spoke to Express.co.uk regarding the latest exchange rate figures this morning.
“Sterling rose to a two-week high against the euro on Friday, closing out its best week in almost nine months,” said Brown.
“The pound continued to benefit from improving risk sentiment across asset classes, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“This week, the aforementioned pandemic will remain the centre of attention.
“Investors are continuing to grapple with the implications of governments placing the global economy into hibernation.”
So what does this mean for travel money?
With the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advising against all but essential travel, it’s unlikely anyone will be looking to buy holiday money.
However, many Britons may have preemptively purchased foreign currency only for their holiday to be cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus.
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Many may wonder whether it’s possible to now exchange the money back into pounds.
However, experts have warned that, given the closure of many bureau de changes and suspension of cash services, it may actually be best to hold on to travel money.
“If they can, holidaymakers might want to keep hold of their currency until their next trip and use it then,” Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO of Equals (formerly known as FairFX), told Express.co.uk.
“For those using prepaid currency cards, they can spend their money back in the UK online or in stores, keep it for their next trip, or change it to a different currency altogether.”
Sacha Zackariya, CEO, Change Group International Plc, also agreed exchanging money may not be wise right now.
“Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to change your foreign currency at this point,” he told Express.co.uk.
“I would, therefore, recommend holding on to this leftover currency until your next holiday or if it is somewhere you are unlikely to travel again then exchange it at a later date.
“As international travel restrictions are updated and government policies change we recommend checking our website for updates on this situation.”
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