Foreign Exchange Rates Tips
Read these 4 Foreign Exchange Rates Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Forex tips and hundreds of other topics.
Canadian Currency - A Conservative Option
If you want to play it safe, the closest currency exchange rate and culture to the U.S. is Canada.
The Canadian dollar is the seventh most traded currency in the world, and many banks keep Canadian dollars as a reserve currency.
Typically, the Canadian dollar tends to move in tandem to the U.S. dollar, but less dramatically. This makes it a more stable investment for those who are seeking to play in the currency markets - but don't want to gamble.
Why are the British Not Part of the Euro?
One of the only European currencies that is not included as part of the Euro is the British Pound Sterling. Why did the UK decide to abstain from the European Common Market? This could be the subject of many lengthy case studies, but the bottom line is that the British currency is one of the oldest and most well-known currencies in the market today. It is one of the currencies used as a standard.
The British pound is now worth roughly 2 U.S. dollars, and is one of the benchmark currencies in the world today.
Traveling? Find Out What You are Paying
If you are planning a great vacation to far away shores, the total price of your trip can vary quite a bit based on the foreign currency exchange rate at the time. It is a good idea to check the exchange rates well in advance, and look for projected future exchange rates as well. This will prevent unpleasant surprises that could keep you from enjoying that grand vacation!
Yahoo has an excellent currency converter with graphs that show the trends for each currency, located at finance.yahoo.com/currency. If you look at the graphs closely, you can see if the currency rises and falls at certain times of the year. This will help with planning your trip.
Dollars, Sense, and Euros
The closest currency to the U.S. dollar is the Euro; which is the new currency of the European Common Market. The Euro is the unified, single currency for the following European nations: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. Europe and America tend to be very close in terms of currency exchange, but some arbitrage potential does exist as the Euro is still somewhat volatile when compared to the U.S. dollar. Given the stability of the European markets, there is some speculation that the Euro may even someday surpass the U.S. dollar and become the primary world reserve currency - the currency upon which all other currencies are measured. Today, the first reserve currency is the U.S. dollar, and the second is the Euro.
