Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

We have finally got our visas and have flights booked for 25th October!

Now next big issue is how to get best rate for our money. we have a migrant account with commonwealth bank and can set the rate that we would like to exchange at. Can anyone give me some advice as to what would be a realistic rate at present, anyone who has recently got a good rate and how they did it or any other valuable info.


many thanks


Wendy

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

Hi Wendy,

Welcome to the joys for foreign exchange... especially when it comes to the Aussie dollar :)

Personally, I would recommend going with one of the forex brokers... ozforex, hifx, etc. as they will tend to give you the best rate compared to a bank. I use ozforex all the time and find them to be very good and always give me the best rate out of them all.

Currently, anything around the 2.29 - 2.30 range is ok but that could all change tomorrow ;)

Good luck,
Mark.

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

LOL, that was me that posted that but my wife (bubbles) was already logged in. Sorry about that. :D

Mark.

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

[QUOTE=Wendy007;5385003]We have finally got our visas and have flights booked for 25th October!

Now next big issue is how to get best rate for our money. we have a migrant account with commonwealth bank and can set the rate that we would like to exchange at. Can anyone give me some advice as to what would be a realistic rate at present, anyone who has recently got a

Thanks,

Richard, HiFX.

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

Hi theres a really good article about this in Australia & Newzealand magazine. Shows you how to do it yourself. Basically, from what i gather if you put your money into a bank that also has branches in Australia there is no exchange rate! You can watch the exchange rates for a while and see how they move then advise the bank at what rate you are willing to exchange at and once it reaches that rate they send it over to Oz.......I know simple!

Address cheques to Bex !

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

Just a few short weeks ago we scored £1= AU$2.51 now it's about 2.27 not very good converting from pounds.

In my opinion the aussie dollar is too strong and still strengthening. The governments reaction can only really be to hold or even drop interest rates to weaken it, then the pound will strengthen, maybe.

If you are still house shopping personally I would leave the cash in the UK. until you need it. most settlements on property is 30 days so there would be plenty of time to get the funds over.

We have a UK First Direct account and moved over £300k to ANZ it cost £30 to send. Unless you absolutely have to have the funds, leave it where it is and keep an eye on the news. The median rate over the past 5 years has ben 2.4 to the pound. This is the stongest the AUD has been in years, it never stays this strong for too long. Look on the forex trading web sites and look at the currency pairing GBP/AUD and you can see the graphs for yourself.

Just do all your day to day spending on an UK Nationwide credit card (if you haven't got one - get one) they are the only bank to provide cards that do not come with foreign transaction charges (usually 2.75%). You can then pay your bills online.

FOREX: you get better rates when changing large amounts, so you really don't want to do it in dribs and drabs. eg £1-10000 will get 2.24. 10k-50k get 2.25, 50k-100k 2.26 etc. etc. each .01cents is a heap as you know so every little helps. We actually sent money back to our UK bank when the pound weakened and made out again.

I would put my money on an interest rate cut or hold for the medium term as the high aussie dollar is hurting exports.

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

Great advice guys, you know what your on about :thumbsup:

But can I please ask you to keep this updated as there are moovements in the market, this advice will men so much to us people who will be there soon:D

January I hope :eek:

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

...however most analysts are predicting a further 2 interest rate RISES in the next 6 months in Oz, possibly the first one as soon as next month. The strong dollar is bad for exporters but otherwise good for inflation keeping the price of imports...and especially petrol low.

There's next to no chance of Aus interest rates dropping in the next 6 - 12 months...not with the way the economy is currently going.

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

Agree completely.

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

I presume that also means there's no chance of the pound growing in strength above the late 2.2's level it's currently hovering around in the next 6 months??

Any one got any input on how likely pound is to drop further?-I know these things cant really be predicted but any general ideas on whether the direction of uk economy coupled with strength of AUD is going to cause a further dive most welcome? :unsure:

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

ps I think there is an Aussie interest rate rise expected on 24 Oct?? (i might be wrong) been mulling over whether i should exchange now in case this make pound drops further..

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

I'd be surprised to see the Reserve Bank raise interest rates in the middle of an election, even if they are supposed to be independent. More likely is an increase in early December, just in time to nip the Xmas shoppers in the hip pocket ...

Best regards.

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

ANYTHING (within reason!) can happen regarding exchange rates...billions are there to be made if it was as simple as predicting it using logical thought!

:thumbup:

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

I know I know! :p - just thought as certain figures out at certain times some forward forecasting might be posiible. One company I found has the month ahead bringing a rise to 2.42 so you never know...

Re: Advice on current exchange rate please?
 

sounds good to me!:rofl: