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Pound falls to five-month low ahead of half-term getaway
The pound fell to its lowest level for five months yesterday, with analysts warning its value is ‘set to tumble’ over the next few months.
If the forecasts are correct, holidaymakers in the peak season will get less for their money because of the unfavourable exchange rates.
Yesterday, the pound fell to below $1.27 against the US dollar, and against the euro, at €1.13.
The Post Office says anyone currently changing more than £400 will get slightly over $1.24 and just over €1.11 for their pound.
Back in March 2008, pound was briefly worth more than $2.
Experts say Brexit uncertainty and the US-China trade war have both contributed to the pound’s fall, according to the BBC.
Sterling picked up again later in the day on Tuesday, but its volatility in the market is set to continue after the Prime Minister failed to win over colleagues with her latest Brexit-deal offer in Parliament.
Sterling had gained ground in recent months, but in recent days rates exchange rates have fallen back to the kind of levels seen during the Christmas holidays, the BBC says.
Exchangeratesorg.uk warns sterling ‘looks set to tumble’ in the run-up to the new Brexit deadline on October 31.
James Hickman, chief commercial officer at currency trader FairFx, told the BBC: "When sentiment moves towards a higher likelihood of a hard Brexit, then we see a fall in the pound."
Hamish Muress, currency analyst at OFX, said the pound was ‘suffering from the renewed uncertainty of Brexit, while investors flood to the relatively safer US dollar amidst the ongoing trade war’.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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