Is this the time to Buy Pounds and Sell Euros?

Looking to sell, or buy, euros and pounds?

(comment added on 5th July, 2010) This is an old article I wrote in February, 2010. To buy, or sell euros and pounds today, please visit our Foreign Exchange provider here and discuss your foreign exchange requirements with a currency dealer.

Some of you may recall my article on the 27th of January.. “Is this a good time to buy euros with pounds?” Well, it transpires that it was. Now the situation has reversed.

Today, Feb 10th, 2020, The GBP, Pound, has dropped since then against the euro. We had a case, this week, where a customer may not have been able to complete on his house purchase as the exchange rate had dropped so much that there was a shortfall of a few thousand euros on completion day.

This could have been overcome if the client had bought a Forward contract at the better exchange rate that existed on the 27th of January.  If he had done this, he wouldn’t have been short of a few thousand euros on the property completion day.

So,…. Is it a good time to sell euros and buy pounds? Probably. No-one can say for sure, but it would appear that the pound is as weak as the euro, when compared to the US Dollar and the Yen. The eurozone is still dragging the Greek finance problem around and the Pound is still suffering from a wave of poor economic results. So, some would say that the Euro and the Pound have levelled off. Experience shows that this staus quo rarely remains for long.

The easiest way to look at this is; if you need to change your money at some point and you need to achieve a certain amount, then you have these options:

1. Exchange all of your Pounds for euros at today’s rate. This is called a SPOT Contract. It ensures that you fix the rate today and you get your money transferred, to where it needs to be, in good time.
2. Exhange some of your Pounds for Euros and risk the exchange rates going in your favour by the time you need to have the rest of the money changed. This is HEDGING in its simplest form. It does mean you can sleep at night, safe in the knowledge that you’ve made sure you don’t lose too much if the rates don’t go your way.
3. Exchange your Pounds for Euros, at today’s exchange rate with just 10% deposit. Then pay the balance when you need the money in the future. This is called a FORWARD Contract. This is the way that most of my clients are now exchanging their money. By paying just a 10% deposit, our clients can relax, safe in the knowledge that they have the right amount of money for their property purchase.

Of course, this doesn’t just apply to Pounds and Euros. It applies to any tradeable currencies and we can deal in smaller amounts of currency.

Contact me here, for some free advice on how to get the best currency exchange rates to suit your circumstances.

Is Now a Good Time to Buy USD, US Dollars?

Buy and Sell USD, Dollars, as the rates are good at the moment.

Ask about our “Buy now - Pay Later” time option forward contract which allows you to put down just 10% deposit, with the balance payable in the future. This fixes the exchange rate now, while the rates are good.

Here are the British Pound sterling rates today versus other currencies including AED Dirham of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, euros, USD, Canadian and Australian dollars together with Japanese Yen can be bought and sold through our global currency exchange network at the best currency exchange rates available today.

The exchange rates for currency, London pound sterling, GBP, for the morning of 3rd December 2009 are shown below. For LIVE CURRENCY RATES use the button on the right and take advantage of the most efficient currency exchange service available.

Currency	Code	GBP/1 Unit	Units/1 GBP
Utd. Arab Emir. Dirham	AED	0.1638	6.1106
Australian Dollar	AUD	0.5572	1.7952
Canadian Dollar	CAD	0.5747	1.7406
Swiss Franc	CHF	0.6016	1.6628
Egyptian Pound	EGP	0.1108	9.1577
Euro	EUR	0.9067	1.103
Hong Kong Dollar	HKD	0.07759	12.8901
Indian Rupee	INR	0.01301	77.026
Japanese Yen	JPY	0.006905	144.859
New Zealand Dollar	NZD	0.4368	2.2903
Polish Zloty	PLN	0.2209	4.5394
Russian Rouble	RUB	0.02058	48.6166
Swedish Krona	SEK	0.08746	11.4497
Thai Baht	THB	0.01817	55.241
US Dollar	USD	0.6013	1.6632
East Caribbean Dollar	XCD	0.2252	4.4906
South African Rand	ZAR	0.08231	12.1733

Open a Free Currency Exchange account with us to make your Bank-to-Bank transfers much better value.

Call: 0044 1480 458 400 (International) or 01480 458 400 (if inside UK) for the best currency exchange rates.

How to Buy a Forward Currency Conract, and Save money

How to Buy a Forward Currency Contract.

If you have a need to fix a currency exchange rate today, for a payment date at some future point, then you are likely to need a Forward Currency Contract.

• You may have agreed to buy a property today, but the completion of the legal paperwork may be set for 2 month’s time
• You may be in business, and need to fix the price of ordered imports at today’s exchange rate. Especially, if you anticipate that the exchange rate may not be as much in your favour when you need to pay for the goods.
• You may work abroad and have a need to regularly transfer a sum of money, but you believe that the exchange rate is at it’s best today

 As long as you believe that the exchange rate is good , and you have 10% of the full amount you want to buy, then a Forward Currency Contract could be the choice for you.

Here’s an example:

1. You agree to buy a property for 200,000 Euros and you have your money currently in Pounds Sterling.
2. You are planning to have a 100,000 euro mortgage, so you need to buy 100,000 euros with pounds.
3. The exchange rate is at the best rate for selling pounds to buy euros for a while.
4. In this example, the GBP:EUR exchange rate is 1.17 to 1, then the property is costing you £170,940.

If the exchange rate changes to 1.08 by the time that you need to change the money, then the price of the property effectively goes up by £14,245 to £185,185.

As you will be changing half of that amount, you will need to find an extra £7122 on the completion date.  

To avoid this, all you have to do is:

• Agree to buy €100,000 today, at a rate of 1.17, but send your currency dealer just 10% as a deposit.
• Pay the balance on the day that the contract ends, which can be set for over a year’s time.

The downside? Well, of course, the exchange rate may go the other way. But, you will at least have the comfort of knowing that the price of your property purchase is fixed.

FAQ: Can I have the money earlier than planned?

Yes, because your currency can create the currency exchange as a “Time Option Forward Currency Contract”. Provided you send the money to the currency broker, they will change it and send it to wherever you ask at any date before the final day of the contract.

To discuss how your currency dealer can help you with a Forward Currency Contract, please speak to Zoe on 0044 (0)1480 458400. www.fx-foreignexchange.com