UK currency takes a pounding

Britons are now faced with yet another travel worry- the pound has fallen to a five-month low against the euro. The British currency also collapsed to a three-week low against the US dollar.

UK travellers exchanging money for trips abroad will find that one pound now only fetches around 1.03 euros, or $1.6134. This was the rate of exchange offered yesterday at post office departments, which are popular places for families to buy foreign currency. Even lower rates could be found at airports across the nation. The pound bought 1.02 euros at both Gatwick and Heathrow airports.

The pound fetched 1.17 euros in August, but has been falling steadily in the last month. There are fears that it may repeat last year’s Christmas-time performance, when it hit parity with the euro — or worse — sink even lower.

The new rates of exchange mean that holiday shopping on trips to the rest of Europe will cost Britons 15% more. UK holidaymakers travelling to the US will find that their spending costs have jumped by 17 per cent.

British holidaymakers heading to Cyprus, Italy, France and other destinations in Europe will have to contend with the reality that their currency will not stretch as far as it used to. The news has come at a time when a small September surge in holiday bookings had just been witnessed, and the travel industry was hoping this would lead to better news.

The falling pound will affect these holidaymakers who have booked for the next month, and families planning half-term breaks to European destinations.