I recently transferred a sum of money from the UK to Spain (to buy more bananas) and was astonished at the exchange rate that I received.  The last time that I did this was back in August and things were pretty than.

But this morning I nearly had a myocardial infarction when I received my bank statement from the Santander.

Then I saw this and was surprised to see that Sterling has hit a new all-time low against the Euro:

http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-gbp.en.html

This is just bloody charming?..

I hear ya. Every time I turn around my American dollars are worth less and less…

with xe.com found 100.00 USD = 68.16EUR
0.681603 eur

100.00 GBP = 133.80
1.33803

but only good think is if you buy goods in uk it got cheaper euro has gone up in value

i know some one how bought 15,000 dollers and wait until summer are later next year
rate he got was 1.46
22.000dollers then bring back to eu and make 5,000 euro profit
ha the banks only give you 3% on your account

My wife and I receive the occasional small value USD cheques. Initially, when I paid the first one in it was for 30 USD which converted down to 21 euros. My bank took 12 Euros as commission leaving me the grand total of just 9 euros!
We have since negotiated a scheme with my bank whereby we collect the dollar cheques and pay in a bunch of them at the same time. The bank total the values and then treat it as a single transaction. We then pay just the one commission charge of 12 Euros. Quite why the Euro is so strong these days I dont know. But both the ? and the dollar are very weak.
I have a sneaky feeling its all to do with the current situation regarding oil prices which are at an all time high and the fact that the USA is all but bankrupt following on from its totally unacceptable invasion of Iraq and it’s continued presence in both Iraq and other places where Bush and his cohorts see the USA as world polizei.

think you need to shop around for buy Euros from dollers “12 Euros as commission ” ok did thay see you coming with euros hang out off your pockets ?

Think you need to Logement your money to usa account and then do your banking online to euro , you save , ha if you chat to bank person thay charge u

oil price do go up this time off the year as it cold , more wanted and with supplyies running low , the Usa dont help with all the war going on aswell , also when weather bad out at sea , having boats been slow down , bad weather at the rigs . there lot behind oil prices and bush dont help aswell

Hi Banks are particularly bad at offering both a good rate and charging outrageous commission on transactions, as you say you can negotiate terms to a degree but basically banks take the P*SS, You would be better off putting all cheques into a dollar account in wherever and then using a FOREX company like Curriencies direct or HIFX, you could shop for a rate, and more importantly they will offer no bank charge transactions.Once you have registered with a FOREX company the process is simple painless and lost cost. rates are usually better.

As to the reasons behind the dollar and the ?,,Ive no Idea but somebody has got to pay for the merrygoround of credit that has been awash in the consumer markets in USA and UK. Coupled with the now poor consumer spending and incompetent financial management which insists on lending money to lost causes IE Northern Rock lent to much then couldnt fund it!!.  FInallly the paymaster always calls!!

Don Carlos - 17 January 2008 01:43 AM

I recently transferred a sum of money from the UK to Spain (to buy more bananas) and was astonished at the exchange rate that I received.  The last time that I did this was back in August and things were pretty than.

But this morning I nearly had a myocardial infarction when I received my bank statement from the Santander.

Then I saw this and was surprised to see that Sterling has hit a new all-time low against the Euro:

http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-gbp.en.html

This is just bloody charming?..

Hi there, am new to Spain, I am a foreign exchange trader, have been for 20 years.. Unfortunately this will get worse(exchange rate eurgbp)Interest rates in euroland on the up and rates in uk on the down.. generally speaking people buy the currency where the projeted interest rate are going up.. I too have the same problem, i sold my house in the uk in September ... Fortunately I invested everthing with Nationwide at 6.7% on an annual fixed rate to compensate.. Here you get about 4% right?.. That is the only way.. When the ECB decide to stop raising interest rates(and this will happen as soon as inflation stops rising..Watch the price of crude oil) then the eur will fall against the gbp..And hopefully with in a year we might get some sort of decent rate…

with the US fed downing there rate yesterday The Federal Open Market Committee has decided to lower its target for the federal funds rate 75 basis points to 3-1/2 percent. so now up to the Ecb to down there rate aswell there meeting in start off Feb 08

thinks are going to get tight this 2008
jurdy

I have just recently put the deposit on a villa in spain and I have to start transfering money in the next couple of weeks. I have being told to open a few accounts with different Fx companys. Then do comparisions to see who is giving the best rate all the time. Is there anyone in the same position as me that can advise me on who to use.
Thanks….. 
Aarron…...

Hello Arron my name is Gary and Im in the middle of moving to spain aswel.

I found a website called .....Currencyfinder.co.uk…. They compare the markets with the top Currency companys and you get a call from the company who gave the best rate… I was put through to a company called Excel Currencies, who I had never heard of before so I was a bit cautious of them.

Once I started speaking to them they explained everything to me in plain english and I was more then happy to use them. I have done a small trade through them already and found there rates very good. I get daily e-mails from them explaining what data is due out and how it will effect the markets.

They simply mades things very easy for me which was a big help because I’m already under alot of stress trying to move to Spain.

I would reccommend them to anyone. If anyone wants the name and number of my broker just let me know ?

Thanks.

Well, given the exchange rate (?/?), doesn?t it make sense (or couldn’t it make sense) for those thinking about transferring money from the UK to Spain, to wait.  If you?re looking for property, you could always rent, in the meantime.  Comparing today?s rate (1?=0.7895) with where we were back in Q3 2007, we?re about 13% down.  If you?re bringing, for example, ?200K from the UK, 13% would pay the rent on most reasonable places and still give you a lot of change.  Furthermore, if these people (http://www.consumer.es/web/es/vivienda/2008/04/04/175950.php) are right about the Spanish housing market, then waiting could make your original ?200K look even more attractive.

Hi Gary

My name is Liz and i am moving to spain soon.

I have to do a couple of small transfers first of all ...

What are the rates like you getting

and whats the smallest amount you ever sent with them…..

Thanks Dizzy Lizzy

When the ECB decide to stop raising interest rates(and this will happen as soon as inflation stops rising..Watch the price of crude oil) then the eur will fall against the gbp..And hopefully with in a year we might get some sort of decent rate…[/quote]

Interesting.  If inflation levels in the Eurozone and the ECB stops raising interest rates, won’t the Bank of England just do the same? Surely if the main driver is the cost of oil, we’ll all follow suit, albeit with a time-lag, maybe.  I guess your skill is in exploiting the time-lag and making good deals when the opportunity is there.

I’ve always assumed that in the medium to long term, the pound will fall against the Euro to the point where we get to 1:1, then the UK will give up on sterling and go into the Eurozone. But you reckon the pound will bounce back up?  Why’s that?

I have some money to invest, which I will want in Euros eventually.  I’m wondering now whether to hold sterling and make the most of better rates in the UK, or exchange in case the pound falls again and put up with a lower saving rate in the meantime.  So I would value your opinion.

well the doller and GBP will be strong again But when (like have the winning numbers to the euros millions ). Watch the price of crude oil Brent Spot   106.66  
and watch the price at the pumps its unreal ireland its diesel 128.00 euros per liter ......

jurdy

1 pound only buys 1.25 euros today and with more bad financial news it could go lower! Solbank offering 5.25% for Euros and 5.4% for sterling.

Life is a big gamble at the moment (financially speaking!)

I’ve got sterling to invest, wouldn’t dream of converting to euros now (missed the boat there!) if i had i would be investing it in property in Madrid (it’s getting cheaper and cheaper for very central locations) anyway so instead of leaving it in a 5.5% interest account in Guernsey (nothing wrong with that except that it’s with Northern Rock! yeh i really know how to pick a good deal!! not!) I am thinking of taking the money and investing it in property in Turkey. I know this is a Spain forum - but does anyone have any experience of buying in Turkey?

Ranpal