Pound in freefall against dollar

WTF?_2

Just checked the BBC page and the pound is now down to $1.7794

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/fds/hi/business/market_data/overview/default.stm (will change over the day)

Of course, it's early in the day yet but given that it was almost $2 a couple of weeks back, this looks like an outright collapse in the currency.

Also trading at €1.2292, another low.

EDIT: One for our 'graph fans'. Pound vs Dollar since mid 2006. Holy **** !

Jonbvn

Seems to have found support around $1.78

Personally this has been a boon to me (for reasons I will not go into) but with oil priced in dollars it is surely a double whammy for inflation?

fimonkey

oooh, so I'm about to go on holiday next Easter to Sanf Fran and NY. Should I get my dollars now then? (yes its a seriosu question btw).

fiodyl

I bought something priced in $ online last night and only got $1.75. I think I worked out thats an increase of 12.5% in what I paid compared to what I would have a couple of months ago.

martindow

In 2004 it went to around 1.40 so a way to go yet!

chewmylegoff

fiodyl wrote: »

I bought something priced in $ online last night and only got $1.75. I think I worked out thats an increase of 12.5% in what I paid compared to what I would have a couple of months ago.

so you paid the same as you would've done in mid 2006, or mid 2004... so?

StevieJ

martindow wrote: »

In 2004 it went to around 1.40 so a way to go yet!

In 1985 it was 1.06, even more to go.

fiodyl

chewmylegoff wrote: »

so you paid the same as you would've done in mid 2006, or mid 2004... so?

so as I havent had a 12.5% pay rise in the last few months, I won't be doing it again :rolleyes:

brightonman123

how is the Euro against Dollar- has that been relatively stable, and worth converting GBP to that?

or maybe its a conspiracy, to get us to give up the Pound.. :beer: :beer:

chartreuse_2

fiodyl wrote: »

I bought something priced in $ online last night and only got $1.75. I think I worked out thats an increase of 12.5% in what I paid compared to what I would have a couple of months ago.

Be a bit careful. The rates that get discussed in the news are mid-market currency trading rates. When you buy something online, you'll get a rate that is much worse than that (depending on tourist rate, your payement provider etc)

So, even when the rate was 2.0, you wouldn't have got 2.0 on a purchase.

WTF?_2

brightonman123 wrote: »

how is the Euro against Dollar- has that been relatively stable, and worth converting GBP to that?

or maybe its a conspiracy, to get us to give up the Pound.. :beer: :beer:

The Euro is in the same situation as the pound was in a couple of weeks back, I reckon: Overvalued.

The thing is, Dollar, Pound and Euro are all overvalued and they make up three of the biggest global currencies ... which begs the question of where do you put your cash?

The dollar has a support from being the de-facto global reserve currency and being used in oil transactions. That gives it an intrinsic level of value which the other two don't have, hence it can get away with trading higher that it otherwise would. Which the Federal Reserve has been ruthlessly exploiting with their policy of cutting rates and exporting the inflation to other countries.....