Pound down almost 10 cents from the high

Either good timing on our part.....or....the Pound will be dropping even further if they vote yes on Scotland.......

Fine with me. Lower the pound, less Canadian dollars I have to pay towards tuition

Hi,

The economic 'uncertainty' has started to show up in the worlds trading and currency markets. If Scotland does vote 'Yes', expect more of the same in terms of a loss in the Pounds strength.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

The Pound needs to come down quite a bit. Back in Empire Sterling was a measure of national strength - now it just hurts exports. Historically, every time the Pound has devalued, the economy has strengthened.

The Pound needs to come down quite a bit. Back in Empire Sterling was a measure of national strength - now it just hurts exports. Historically, every time the Pound has devalued, the economy has strengthened.

Hey, I call that a win-win situation all around! 

 Here's hoping it drops quickly then.

I'm personally fine with it because as an international student, I have about 12,450 pounds to pay for tuition (around $22K CAD). The lower the pound goes, the less I have to pay.  Looks like it went up a little as of now though, yesterday my first payment was going to only be $10,950 and now it's up to $11,013.  Sure not horrible, but still back above $11K.

I'm personally fine with it because as an international student, I have about 12,450 pounds to pay for tuition (around $22K CAD). The lower the pound goes, the less I have to pay.  Looks like it went up a little as of now though, yesterday my first payment was going to only be $10,950 and now it's up to $11,013.  Sure not horrible, but still back above $11K.

Haha, I'm the opposite.  I'm fine with the pound being higher because the higher it is, the more US dollars I get when I transfer money!

I'm ambivalent. 

On the one hand, the lower the pound, the more I'll get from the U.S. dollars my family insist on sending at Christmas/birthdays.  Plus, a more favourable exchange-rate would make it easier for them to visit  (though not as much as would slashing/scrapping the Air Passenger Duty if we get independence). 

On the other hand, the higher the pound, the less it takes to pay my U.S. student loans.  But it's such a small amount, it really doesn't matter much.

The more legitimate concern is how it will affect prices of consumer goods.  Kind of glad we've just done all our major purchases, so we should be good for another 4-5 years.

When I first spent a summer in Scotland in 2002, the pound was something like $1.50, the economy was pretty good, and nobody was panicking. Back when the pound was around $2, everyone was freaking out because it damages exports. The pound has fluctuated a lot since then for various reasons. Big whoop.

The pound has fluctuated a lot since then for various reasons. Big whoop.

Oh, I agree with that.  Currency has no bearing on my opinion on the referendum. 

And, as sonofasailor pointed out, in overall economic terms, a softer pound (or smackarooni) could actually be a very good thing, especially if Scotland wants to get serious about re-industrialisation.

Well any "news" now regarding the referendum is in all likelihood PR. And to throw all this  "scary" stuff out at the last minute is cheap (though it can work - and I guess if you win...all's fair). But currency rates will fluctuate....and all sorts of things come along and nudge them about. Of more concern to the UK should be the Yen....

Just transferred $$ to the UK to buy a house and got more than I had originally expected, so I am pleased!

Fruitgum.....which method did you use to transfer? I am about to move my first bit of money over ($55-60,000). xe.com seemed to have the better rate of the three I looked at. Checking with my bank tomorrow....but I don't think they can match the online sites.

Hi

F4mandolin - to move large amounts of funds over, you'll need to look at currency exchange specialists like HiFx and Moneycorp. These specialists have better exchange rates than you'll find anywhere else along with other useful aspects etc.

Et al, whichever way the referendum goes, there's going to be economic uncertainty as various aspects get discussed. For individuals looking to exchange currencies between the US and UK, using a currency specialist will at least get the best available rates at the time of requirement (ideally, anyone needing foreign currency should do so asap!) . If aspects are resolved relatively quickly in the political world, then the world's markets will respond perhaps more favourably. If various aspects in the political world get convoluted and messy, then everyone should expect more financial issues in everyday life.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Fruitgum.....which method did you use to transfer? I am about to move my first bit of money over ($55-60,000). xe.com seemed to have the better rate of the three I looked at. Checking with my bank tomorrow....but I don't think they can match the online sites.

I used Forex as my husband set up an account when we moved to the UK last year. Unfortunately we didn't have the foresight to arrange overseas wire transfers with our US bank, Wells Fargo, before we left Texas over 5 years ago, so one of us needed to be in the US to initiate the wire transfer. Luckily a vacation coincided with the house purchase. We got a rate we were happy with and, anyway, didn't have the time to set up additional accounts with other foreign exchange entities. Hope this helps!