Currency Exchange: How This May Affect Your Spanish Property Purchase

Currency market update 27th April 2006

Sterling hit a 3-week low against a strong euro and held steady against the dollar after data showed British house prices barely budged in April following a jump in March.

The Nationwide Building Society said prices were up only 0.1 percent in April, after a 1.1 percent rise the month before, taking the average price of a British home to 163,573 pounds in seasonally adjusted terms.

The annual rate dropped back to 4.8 percent in April from a 10-month high of 5.3 percent in March.

The data was a bit below expectations but I think the uptrend in UK housing prices is still there, said Kris Bernie, market economist at National Australia Bank.

The Nationwide predicted property price growth would probably slow further over the rest of 2006.

By 0729 GMT, sterling was steady against the dollar at $1.7850. The pound hit a three week low against the euro at 69.81 pence before recovering slightly to 69.73 pence.

The euro has been riding high this week, hitting a 7-month peak against the dollar.

Interbank rates

GBP/EURO ? 1.4350

EUR/GBP ? 1.4410

EUR/USD - 1.2401

GBP/USD ? 1.7950

USD/GBP - 1.7898

GBP/AUD - 2.3752

GBP/NZD - 2.8400

GBP/CAD - 2.0130

GBP/CYP - 0.821

GBP/AED ? 6.540

GBP/ZAR ? 10.95

GBP/CHF ? 2.2610

GBP/PLN ? 5.5790

GBP/CZK ? 40.767

GBP/THB ? 67.17

Toby is a senior FX manager who writes daily articles concerning the Euro Pound currency exchange markets and how this affects the Spanish property market.