The pound to euro exchange rate has taken a battering as coronavirus sweeps the globe. The rate has plummeted as the situation in the UK and Europe worsened. According to current figures, there are 339,645 total confirmed cases globally.
It was the first time in a week the pound to euro rate had broken above such a figure.
Looking ahead at today, experts have said the focus will stay on coronavirus.
Of particular interest are the “continued policy responses to the economic impacts of the virus.”
The pound is currently trading at 1.0899 against the euro, according to Bloomberg at the time of writing.
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Michael Brown, currency expert at international payments and foreign exchange firm Caxton FX, spoke to Express.co.uk regarding the latest exchange rate figures this morning.
“Sterling continued to recover ground against the euro on Friday,” said Brown.
“It benefitted from Chancellor Sunak’s significant, and unprecedented, stimulus plan, which saw the pairing briefly break above the 1.11 handle for the first time in a week before paring gains.
“Today, and this week, attention will remain on the coronavirus pandemic, particularly continued policy responses to the economic impacts of the virus from global central banks and fiscal policymakers.”
Of course, this is a very difficult time for the travel industry as countries go into lockdown and flights are cancelled.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised against all but essential travel for an initial period of 30 days.
Matt Crate, Managing Director of travel money provider WeSwap commented on the struggles the industry is undergoing.
“The sector is undergoing some real strain at this moment in time with government’s all over the world advising or restricting non-essential travel,” said Crate.
“However, the industry has dealt with turbulence before and will have to do it again, so now is the time to learn lessons from the past and use future-facing technologies and methods of working to see out this period for more fruitful times.
“Technology is allowing our fantastic customer service teams to maintain our usual operations while keeping them safe by working from home, and if companies aren’t utilising this now, they will need to in the coming days.
“Furthermore, software like Zoom or Microsoft Teams is allowing us to continue working harmoniously away from a centralised location.
“This is one small aspect of how we need to protect our teams during this period to ensure that the impact of COVID-19 isn’t any greater than it has to be.”
The FCO has said:
If you now need to change or cancel your travel plans, follow these steps:
- contact your airline, travel company, cruise line or other transport and accommodation providers
- get in touch with your insurance provider
- continue to follow the NHS coronavirus guidance
