zoglet

2.01 to the Kwiw$- wtf??!!!

Any insights into what's causing this latest fall?

PHONEJUNKY

$1.998 to £1 at 13.45 uk time

FrequentFlyer

Wow never seen it this low.

No major economic news either side of the world today as far as I know to cause this sudden drop of 7 pts.

Hopefully the BoE will start to raise interest rates in UK in 2011 - UK inflation is looking like reaching 4% in Jan with the VAT rise so we may see some upward trending finally!

Fingers crossed!

MnB

Makes the $2.28 we got 12mths ago look fantastic....... tho' kiwi's were still under the impression we were getting $3......have they changed??

zoglet

1.99!!!!!!

The best reason I can see is the poor consumer confidence in the US.

Since Iv been in NZ,the pound has dropped and dropped.If I were not already here, I doubt very much I would have come as this cost me over a fifth of my savings. NZ is simply too expensive to make that kind of willing sacrifice worthwhile.

Oh well, at least theres the beach....

Genesis

How crap is all this then?? If it does not bounce back to the over 2 resistance mark it could be the express lift down towards unthinkable lows eh??? I too doubt if I would have moved to Nz had the rates been this low. Kind of makes the idea of returning to a non crowded part of europe quite attractive!!!!!

Just has another look. It is showing no signs of abating its descent. Oh bloody dear. Is anyone really still going to change up their UK equity and come to NZ at these rates???

Justcol

what price happiness?

MnB

Missed you!....good to see ya Hope the rate was more favourable for your trip?
B x

zaras dad

1.99

DennisBergkamp

well at 1 pound at $1.99
that makes my NZ salary over £30k a year - not bad lol
shame NZ is quite expensive

But if i end up back in the UK, if i have some $NZ saved, it'll be good to exchange

PHONEJUNKY

For new people wanting to go to NZ it make the salary more attractive but will just have to leave stearling in UK until things pick up?

Genesis

I sometimes wonder if the value of sterling will rebound atall. At least for the for seeable future. The Uk seems to be getting fiscally worse by the day. Alas I just don't have the wherewithall the exchange a pile of GBPs at 2 for 1..even though it could get worse. I would rather leave the money in the UK for my kids when I have departed or invest it wisely is a broad portfolio with a quality fund manager for at least 5 years. I will look into the latter shortly..any ideas anyone??

jennifer45

some reasons given for Sterling's weakness.[Apart from the obvious 'supply and demand' factor]

• The UK has emerged more weakly from the global recession than Europe and the US;

• The slashing of interest rates to record lows and the low interest rate outlook;

• The Bank of England's quantitative easing programme;

• The UK's poor fiscal position, with its large and growing public sector deficit.
• The suspicion that the Bank of England and the Government want a weak pound in order to boost exports. Didn't know we made anything anymore to export- not in any large quantity!

• The suspicion that the Bank of England and the Government don't mind inflation staying above target because it will reduce the value of the massive public debt.



We left a big wedge of our savings in the UK hoping the rate would improve by 2010, as forecasted by the financial gurus [believe them??!] Now they're saying mid 2011 before an upturn!
Too many 'amateur speculators' playing silly beggars on their laptops buying and selling currencies such as GBP and NZD and making a packet.
We've handed over our UK State Pension in exchange for a much better NZ Super, which is producing a stable income , not one which was frozen and went up and down [or more likely down and down ] with the changing rates.
Our UK personal pensions continue to suffer the fluctuations but unlike our friends in France, Spain and Portugal, we have no intention of returning to the UK.
We're not destitute, just not as affluent as we'd hoped to be.

Economists welcomed the weakening of sterling last year as heralding a much-needed correction to the UK's chronic trade imbalances. However, as the pound can be seen as a barometer of the UK economy, some perceive its recent weakening as a matter of concern.

Lets hope the UK Government do.

zoglet

Thanks jenifer, your account does sketch out the overall trends that have effected sterling.

But it doesnt explain why, over the xmas period, the pound slipped to this new historic low, which is what I was particularly interested with. Aside from poor consumer confidence in the US, there is no obvious cause for this drop.

When I first did my sums the pound was around 2.70 (and up). I did my calculations on the conservative (or so I thought) rate of 2.50. Now at around 2.00 and below it is scary how events completely beyond my control, and seemingly random, can make such an impact on my plans.

Personally, I think that speculators are the new scum- lower even than estate agents! It seems that no matter what mess they cause, they still profit. got to be something wrong with a system that tolerates that.

Charismatic

Dairy profits this year will be huge due to the ongoing rain/sun thing this year? I read in the paper that just that one days rain before Christmas in the Manawatu netted Fonterra an estimated additional $100m and it’s happened again since. We are just having a very productive year for agriculture and the price of commodities is rising fast.

Selling stuff that people want is a much better investment than waiting for houses/land to change at the moment .