US$ savings account??

NickyBoy

I'm thinking of taking advantage of the current £/$ rate and buying some dollars, as I'll probably go to the states next year (sister lives there).

Is there any way I can hold US$ in a savings account and thereby accrue some interest?

If possible that seems like a better plan than having currency just lying about.

Any ideas folks??

Thanks.

johnllew

Citibank offer a US $ savings a/c but the interest rate is very low.

deemy2004

I'm thinking of taking advantage of the current £/$ rate and buying some dollars, as I'll probably go to the states next year (sister lives there).

Is there any way I can hold US$ in a savings account and thereby accrue some interest?

If possible that seems like a better plan than having currency just lying about.

Any ideas folks??

Thanks.

The problems I see are two fold -

1. US interest rates, which even though they are rising are still very, very low.

2. The $ ! Basically your taking a gamble on the dollar bottoming out. The problem here is that it is in a long-long term bear market against most currencies, and I am talking 30 years plus ! But saying that the question you need to ask is whether sterlign will be weaker than the dollar.

Now, that is the question !

Personally, I would not contemplate buying against a falling currency, it is better. much better to let it bottom, and prove that it is bottomed before jumping in. As, as things stand £/$1.90 looks great at the moment for buying dollars, what if it continues on to £/$ 2.20 i.e. a near 16% depreciation

Might seem far feteched, but in the current bear market a move to 2.20 is more likely than a move to 1.60 !


Citibank US $ saving account is a good one if you want to go ahead, you can have multiple accounts in multiple currencies and thus switch funds between them

NickyBoy

Thanks for your replies.

Do you really think the $ will continue to fall?

Surely it must be somewhere near the bottom at the moment?

I did find details of the Citibank account online, so thanks for that tip.

Still not sure what to do, but I guess the timescale involved (i.e. under 1 year) and the amount involved (?? maybe £1000 or so) I may be as well to just leave it as any market movement may not be that great in either direction.

Rafter

The general feeling is that the dollar will continue to fall.

The US trade and fiscal deficit is so high that demand for dollar debt is falling and with their interest rate so low there is little return from holiding $ investments either.

I'd take a risk that rates will fall further personally and when they do start to rise again it will probably be more slowly than the recent falls.

R.

deemy2004

Thanks for your replies.

Do you really think the $ will continue to fall?

Surely it must be somewhere near the bottom at the moment?

The $ is in a long term bear market and so is the £. The only question is which currency is weaker at a particular point in time. At the moment the dollar is much weaker than the £ so it will continue to fall until sentiment changes. I.e. not the facts, but rather market sentiment. At this point in time there is nothing to suggest that sentiment is likely to change in the near or even not to near future.

Sayign that, there are dark clouds brewing over the £, especially after the next election, which may force the £ lower. But in the meantime it could still go to 2.20 as markets tend to over-extend in a particular direction before reaching juncture. i.e. going further than anyone could imagine they could go before reversing.