Pound euro exchange rate ‘held up admirably’ amid vaccine boost – travel money latest
Travel money: Post Office introduce multi-currency pre-paid card
The pound to euro exchange rate experienced a “significant softening in risk appetite” on Wednesday said experts. However, despite this, GBP continues to perform well. Coronavirus remains a barometer for sterling’s movements, with the UK’s vaccine rollout currently proving a boost.
This will continue to be the case today as “attention remains on the pandemic.”
The pound is currently trading at 1.1297 against the euro, according to Bloomberg at the time of writing.
Michael Brown, currency expert at international payments and foreign exchange firm Caxton FX, spoke to Express.co.uk regarding the latest exchange rate figures this morning.
“Despite a significant softening in risk appetite yesterday, the pound held up admirably against the common currency, ” said Brown.
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“It benefitted from the UK’s continued outperformance in covid vaccinations, and the ECB attempting to jawbone the euro lower.
“Today, with little in the calendar, attention will remain on the pandemic, and on whether yesterday’s dip is bought on Wall Street.
“The key test for sterling is whether it can hold above the 1.13 support.”
So what does all this mean for your holidays and travel money?
Post Office Travel is currently offering a rate of €1.0895 over £400, €1.1053 for over £500, or €1.111 for over £1,000.
Unfortunately, the thrill of buying travel money for holidays is unlikely to be felt any time soon.
Yesterday the Government announced it was further clamping down on non-essential travel, with some experts saying foreign travel is too much of a risk.
Consequently, some Britons may have been stuck with holiday money they can no longer use after their travels were cancelled.
So what is best to do with foreign currency – should you exchange it or keep it?
James Lynn, co-CEO and co-founder of Currensea, advises holding onto the money.
“It may be tempting to change back leftover travel money, or even take out foreign currency in anticipation of a future holiday, while the exchange rate is favourable,” he said.
“However, I would advise against this. Market movements are often more marginal in reality than they appear.
“Especially during this volatile time, it’s safer to keep hold of your money in your UK bank account over purchasing or exchanging and holiday money.
“Once we are allowed to travel again, this will signify the end of the COVID bump and I anticipate this will mean the pound has improved even more significantly than the level it is at today.”
He added: “The absolute no-go is to take out money from an airport bureau de change which can result in you being hit with an exchange rate of up to 10-20 percent when exchanging or buying back cash.”
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