UK employment data for July pushed the Pound sharply higher as confidence in Britain’s economic recovery continues to improve.
Market confidence will be crucial for Sterling as a lack of economic data leaves the currency vulnerable to wider market movements. EU Industrial production is scheduled to be released at 10:00 (BST) with a fall in activity begin expected for July. US weekly jobless claims data will be released this afternoon, weaker data may see the Dollar struggle to maintain strength. Weaker Australian employment data weighed heavily on the Australian Dollar as fears of further interest cuts have emerged.
The Pound rallied nearly half a percent on Wednesday after UK unemployment data showed improvement to the British jobs market. The rate of unemployment fell to 7.7% (forecast 7.8%) in July and heightened expectations that the Bank of England would have to consider monetary tightening sooner than forecast in the bank’s forward guidance.
How this helps Car Shipping
A strong pound can greatly lower the cost of buying and shipping cars from abroad, take for example the case of purchasing a new Ford Mustang and shipping it back to the UK, the savings of a $1.5/£ compared to say a $1.7$/£ can be seen as such:
| Purchase price of car | 1.5$/£ | $1.7/£ | Saving (£) |
| $50,000 | £33,333 | £29,411 | £3,922 |
| Import Duty 10% | £3,333 | £2,941 | £392 |
| Import VAT 20% (Car price + duty) | £7,333 | £6,470 | £863 |
| Total Savings | £5,177 |
The saving of over £5,000 is considerable and does not even take into account that we pay for shipping in USD($) and so our service charge will likely be lower plus the fact that economies of scale with more containers moving to the UK will further lower shipping rates
How you can lower foreign exchange exposure
Our sister company SMCFX can manage the transfer of funds to the seller at the best possible rates, far better than a bank (save on average £200 on transferring $10,000 for example) – sign up quickly and easily and use our online portal here: www.smcfx.co.uk