The Euro is at its strongest since its launch 9 years ago, at 1.116 Euros to the pound/0.745 EUR to the US Dollar.
While on the surface, this sounds like bad news, and it is in terms of our import buying power, as well as the cost of living which (reduced petrol prices aside), looks set to continue climbing well into 2009; for exporters it’s good news.
The tide has turned: where once the UK and USA could count on importing goods from overseas cheaply, and it was our own goods and services that were perceived as expensive by other nations, the shoe is, for the time being at least, firmly on the other foot.
The reduced value of the traditionally leading currencies makes goods and services UK and US companies sell abroad appear more competitively priced, so now is a good time to sell to countries that are part of the Eurozone, and see this decline in the value of these currencies as an opportunity for business.
Having a foothold in more than one market spreads your risk, so if your domestic economy is not faring well, then you can focus your attention on other markets and hopefully weather the storm.
16 December 2008 16:46