Devalue £

MouldyOldDough

What would happen to the value of personal savings if the government decided to devalue the pound? 

eskbanker

Depends what you mean by 'value' - in simple absolute numerical terms their value would be the same, i.e. £1 before would still be £1 afterwards, but if you mean spending power then such devaluation would be likely to increase the cost of imported goods....

Linton

MouldyOldDough said:

What would happen to the value of personal savings if the government decided to devalue the pound? 

The government does not fix exchange rates these days and hasnt done for decades. They are determined by the markets.

Exchange rates don’t affect the value of savings  in £s. Lower exchange rates against other major currencies could lead to further inflation since imports would become more expensive.

jimjames

MouldyOldDough said:

What would happen to the value of personal savings if the government decided to devalue the pound? 

It's already significantly devalued over the last 6 years

penners324

Devalue means against other currencies. It won't impact the number of £ you have

Olinda99

... so said Harold Wilson.

Zola.

If they decide to? haha

dunstonh

Olinda99 said:

... so said Harold Wilson.

... who initially tried to run economic policies to resist devaluation but the markets had no confidence in them and hence the pound devalued.   Since then the pound has continued to devalue over the decades from its $2.80 to $2.40 under Wilison to the $1.20 we see today.

Although it is still higher than at its low point in modern history (mid 80s).   And the pound is not actually low. Rather it is the dollar that is high.  It was considered to be around 15% higher than ideal before the Brexit vote.  The outcome of that vote was enough to move the markets and the pound to euro has been operating in a similar range since.

It is a strange question for the OP to ask and it suggests the possibility that someone has been scaremongering them.

Millyonare

It was once possible to get $10 for £1. Today, it is $1 to £1. The pound is down roughly -90% from its peak (in the 1700s).

pjread

Millyonare said:

It was once possible to get $10 for £1. Today, it is $1 to £1. The pound is down roughly -90% from its peak (in the 1700s).

It was once 13.33 Indian Rupees to the pound, now it's over 100.  The pound is now up over 700% (since the 1800s).

(neither of us are entirely right - it's more complex than that)

Type_45

The USD is simply the tallest dwarf in the circus. Its competitors being bigger basket cases than itself.

But the USD is losing ground against commodities, and that's how it's "strength" should be measured.

The USD is at the end game of its existence.