Now is a great time to change your pounds into other currencies,whether you are off on a shopping spree or venturing into foreign property markets. The recent Bank of England interest rate hikes have made the pound extremely attractive to currency investors looking for high gains. The pound had been heading towards the two dollar mark for some time although this has cooled a little recently and you can get over one and a half euros in exchange for sterling.

If you are in the process of buying a property in Europe or the U.S you could be making rather large savings when carrying out a substantial currency exchange. This may help to cover a large part of your tax and/or legal fees which we all know can add up when making an overseas purchase. It also puts you in a strong position when bargaining with vendors.

The strong pound is having adverse effects on those UK investors who are in the middle of or have recently sold an overseas property and are trying to get their funds changed back into sterling. Profits will be eaten into unless you can find a decent Euro or Dollar savings account to stash your cash in and hope for the markets to go your way.

The latest Bank of England meeting (Feb 2007) ended with rates staying at 5.25% and helped other currencies claw some ground back. If the Euro rate is increased this month that will probably see the continental currency fight back but it's still got a lot of work to do.

To keep an eye on the latest world wide currency rates we recommend www.xe.com