Just where does the time go? From a currency perspective 2010 proved to be quite volatile and the early indicators are much of the same for the early part of 2011. The last 10 days have recorded swings of up to 5 cents against the pound which clearly does not help people budget or make sensible decisions when to transfer their funds. I say sensible and perhaps this is the wrong word as currency exchange has not seen sense for a long time.

With the UK housing sector recording losses, the services sector not performing as expected, a downward turn in the construction sector and a worsening situation with the trade balance figures you do start to worry what will happen in the UK. Some good news however is that the manufacturing sector recorded an increase which just goes to show all is not lost.

In the eurozone we had rumours about Spain, Portugal, Italy and now Belgium which should make the euro weaken ,however the rot has not set in and Spain, Portugal and Italy have recently held successfull bond auctions. Add to this a good performance from Germany where factory orders are up and the whole method of forecasting exchange rates just seems to become more confusing. We have not even started on the US statistics and forecasts so perhaps we will avoid alltogether.

In Spain we have all seen the lack of interest in the property sector, however of late we have started to see a bit of an upturn and a recent survey in the UK indicated that due to the bad weather and the current economic woes many Brits are again starting to seek hotter climes and improved living conditions. For many Brits the British weather is the clincher with 24% quoting this as the reason for wanting to move abroad. The most popular reason however is the general quality of life woth over 52% suggesting that a lifestyle change would tempt them to move abroad.  

For our property market to shift we need more of the Brits thinking about the Government cuts, tax increases and of course the recent cold winter to make decisions that its now time to start moving abroad and I suspect places like Australia and Spain may see an increase in demand throughout 2011. One of Spains key issues of course will be the ability to manage the employment situation as employment can be a strong factor in looking at new lifestyle opportunities ,particularly for men.

A realistic outlook does come into play and nearly 20% of the Brtish recently surveyed recognised they would need to change their profession when moving overseas, 14% said they would move when they retire and 13% were not worried about where or how they worked. Emotions have a lot of “draw” particularly at this time of year.

Moving forward I can also see Spain benefitting from the recent turmoil in the North African countries such as Tunisia and therefore we should see a better holiday season in 2011 for Spain which hopefully can start to correct some of the economic issues.

So what and when is the best time to consider moving your funds? You need to talk to a foreign exgange specialist sucgh as Moneycorp who can give you expert guidance on the currency markets and help you maximise your transfer needs. They can be contacted on 951 319 700 or email costadelsol@moneycorp.com You will also be welcome to call at their office in Puerto Banus and have a coffee and a chat with the team about your personal currency needs.

Please remember to tell us that you heard about us through Eye On Spain when contacting Moneycorp