Sterling exchange rates plummet again

Sterling recorded its biggest loss against the Dollar since 1992 yesterday – falling over 5% in one day.

Volatility on the equity markets, along with poor UK sentiment and speculation about interest rate cuts later this week, led to a terrible day for the Pound, although markets have been steady this morning.

If you need to transfer money overseas, these are worrying times. The US Dollar tends to gain value in times of worry, as investors buy other assets denominated in USD, pushing up the price of the currency.

Elsewhere, the best Australian dollar rates are down below 2.30 again, from nearly 2.40 a week or so ago. This means somebody emigrating with £200,000 of assets now has AU$20,000 less when they arrive down under, than if they had bought currency a week ago.

Euro exchange rates dipped down into the 1.16s this morning before levelling out again around 1.1750.

The Pound also hit a 13-year low against the Japanese Yen.

With interest rates likely to fall in the UK on Thursday, it seem unlikely that there will be much Christmas cheer for anybody buying overseas property and buying foreign currency to fund the purchase.

As hard as it sounds, buyers may just be better off biting the bullet and securing exchange rates now. Don’t forget that using a specialist forex broker, you can save money against your bank and make the best of a bad situation.