exchange rate

[signtalker]

The Exchange rate i notice last night for dollars is 156, now forgive me for sounding dense is this good??, im sure last time we went it was 136.
Can anybody enlighten me, as whether this is a good deal, I was thinking of going to get some spends today for the holiday in May.

Jules

 

[vernon]

You should get even better than that in the next couple of days, particularly if you shop about a bit.

As to whether it's a good deal right now, or if it will get better before May is a tough call. The main reason for the current weakness of the dollar is the uncertainty of if or when the US will take military action against Iraq and how long such action will take. Personally I think it's a nailed on certainty they will to into Iraq, the more argumentative aspect is how long and messy any action will be. IMHO it's not going to be a very long or costly exercise for the US. Looking at the history books, the Dollar weakened ( as did the stock markets) before the action in 1991 and strengthened immediately afterward. I'm more than a little bemused as to where all this money ( £ and euros) have gone with the $ having been sold so aggressively. It certainly hasn't gonme into the stock markets which are about 10% down since the start of the year. Which leads me to believe that much of it is sitting about waiting for something to happen. If that is the case and there is a rebound once the US sorts out Iraq I think that rebound is likely to be quite sharp.

PS, If I knew what I was doing, I'd have retired a long time ago

 

[Silver]

LOL Vernon , if only we had a crystal ball.

Marks & Spencer is quoting $1.60 today for the US Dollar

 

[daywalker]

Originally posted by vernon
You should get even better than that in the next couple of days, particularly if you shop about a bit.

As to whether it's a good deal right now, or if it will get better before May is a tough call. The main reason for the current weakness of the dollar is the uncertainty of if or when the US will take military action against Iraq and how long such action will take. Personally I think it's a nailed on certainty they will to into Iraq, the more argumentative aspect is how long and messy any action will be. IMHO it's not going to be a very long or costly exercise for the US. Looking at the history books, the Dollar weakened ( as did the stock markets) before the action in 1991 and strengthened immediately afterward. I'm more than a little bemused as to where all this money ( £ and euros) have gone with the $ having been sold so aggressively. It certainly hasn't gonme into the stock markets which are about 10% down since the start of the year. Which leads me to believe that much of it is sitting about waiting for something to happen. If that is the case and there is a rebound once the US sorts out Iraq I think that rebound is likely to be quite sharp.

PS, If I knew what I was doing, I'd have retired a long time ago

Do you reckon the pound will continue to strengthen against the $ before the conflict? Then, once it starts will it weaken or fall with the Dollar?? I am tempted to buy my spends now before the war in March (which is just my guess BTW)

 

[vernon]

I'm sitting here with a boat load of dollars I could have sold at 1.58 and now the best I would get is 1.64 so my recent track record isn't too good LOL. I don't think there will be a major move until any engagement, and I think your guestimate of March isn't too far off. The UN inspectors have asked for another couple of weeks to continue their search so I think Feb 23,24th is that absolute earliest, this coupled with the fact the Americans have said it'll take them another couple of weeks to get their airbourne divisions down there ( are they flying by balloon LOL )

 

[daywalker]

Thanks Vernon, I'll buy a few now I think