Hi All,

As requested by a number of Brits In Brisbane regulars here's a brief update on what's happening in the currency markets. Hopefully that's the last of the snow for the UK and we can now all start looking forward to some better weather.

High & Low of the Month:
High: 2.2823
Low: 2.1745

Difference on £200k:
High: AUD 456,460.
Low: AUD 434,900.
So a difference of AUD21,560.

Australia was swamped at the beginning of February by continued bad numbers from the US, Japan and Europe leaving the data relatively thin. February 3 saw the Federal authorities respond to the deteriorating domestic and global outlook with a 100 basis point rate cut to 3.25% from the RBA and a $42b stimulus package from the Government.

Figures from Q4 2008 came out as the worst since the recession of the early 1990’s and this fuelled rumors that businesses expect conditions to worsen in 2009.

In a surprising contrast, employment figures released in Feb had risen as firms took on more full time workers however; the overall Unemployment Rate rose from 4.5% to 4.8%. The expectation is that this will reach 7% in the current down-cycle. February ended with uncertainty hovering over the outlook on retail figures for Q1 and concern about the weakness in the global economy but optimism that stimulus packages will assist the domestic economy to pick up in H2 2009.

The next interest rate cut was expected at the RBA meeting on March 3 however; they may be waiting to see the effects of the stimulus package already in place.

Central bank rates:
OZ - Current rate: 3.25% (Next Meeting: 03-April-09) US - Current rate: 0.25% (Next Meeting: 17-Mar-09) ECB - Current rate: 2.00% (Next Meeting: 05-Mar-09)

Going forward most industry analysts expect continued volatility. No surprises there!

Whilst FX isn't the most thrilling of subjects, the sooner you begin to think about your money transfers, the more likely are to make your money go as far as you do.

Best Regards,




HiFX