French Presidential Election Update

A busy end to the week, all eyes on France's general election

The week ends on a busier note with key economic figures seen out of the UK, eurozone and US. This week has been one to remember for the pound after it broke out of multi-month trading ranges against a number of its major peers. Sterling isn't out of the water yet but many are now calling for a new chapter in the currency's post-Brexit life.

This morning sees UK retail sales data crossing the wires at 0930. While economic numbers have generally taken a backseat to Brexit related developments, these data points are still important as they're what the Bank of England will use when devising monetary policy.

Retail sales are a key indicator of the health of the consumer within a nation. As a result, this morning's release could have a notable impact on the pound which has already gained a huge amount of ground these last few days. Elsewhere, eurozone manufacturing and services PMIs are scheduled for release this morning as well as similar releases from the United States in addition to existing home sales data this afternoon.

Over the weekend, France will host its 1st round general election vote. For all clients exposed to the euro, whether it's buying or selling, please be aware - prices could see significant swings as markets reopen on Sunday evening depending on which candidates make it through.

The candidates which markets would be most fearful of and who would cause the most euro volatility with negative implications are Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Melenchon.

All the best to our French clients, agents, partners and friends for this weekend.

Eyes Turn to the French Election

The euro had a fairly positive day yesterday gaining against many of the majors after a new opinion poll in France suggested Emmanuel Macron was ahead in popularity. The single currency spiked to a three-week high against the USD and recovered some of its recent losses against the pound and was trading up by around 0.3% at the close of trading. The first round of voting in France will get underway on Sunday and the poll by Harris Interactive placed Macron with 25%, ahead of Marine Le Pen with 22%. If Le Pen does not get off to a good start and drifts early on in the voting process, the euro could continue to strengthen against all of the majors early next week.

This morning we will see a host of manufacturing and services purchasing managers’ indexes (PMI) released across the euro region at 9.00am to cap the week off, but all eyes will be on the French first round of voting this weekend which will shape next week’s movements for the currency.

Guidance on Sending Money Internationally

Frequently Asked Question:

Hi Cle France, we are already registered with a currency exchange firm and we do seem to get a few other FX companies phoning us saying they are the best? they cannot all be the best surely? as we have viewed with many agents and visited many websites do you have any advice or guidance on which one we should use as our date for paying the 10% deposit looms, exciting times!

Regards, Chris.

'Cle France' Answer:

Of course you must use whoever you see fit, but I explain quickly why we recommend Ben Amrany of FC Exchange.

He handles the transfers for virtually all of our clients, and the reason for that is so that we keep everything in house: Ben, myself, the Notaires and the Agents in France all work together, so we know at any point in time where the money is, which can relief the stress for our clients.

For instance if a Notaire says the money hasn't arrived, I can pick the phone up to Ben, get the tracking details and speak to the Notaire directly to tell him to look again, and how to identify the transfer. But where we have another currency company involved I can't work for the client in the same way, and we have to depend on the client to resolve the problem, which can be very stressful, especially when the currency trader tells the client "the money has been sent", and the Notaire says "he hasn't received it"!

Sadly this has happened a fair bit when other currency companies have done the transfer.

So the benefit of using Ben Amrany and FC Exchange is that... Yes, he will beat other companies' rates as he has a Best Rate Guarantee, but also that he pays careful attention to our clients so things quite literally never go wrong, and funds never go astray, and I can't say that about other companies I have encountered.

You don't even have to by buying a house with Cle France to use Ben for your currency exchange, indeed some clients who have viewed with us may actually buy a property with another agent, sadly we can't win them all, that does not stop them still using Ben and FC Exchange to get the best deal on for their money.

So hopefully I have given you a bit more detail, and feel free to give Ben the chance to at least give you a no obligation quote, but of course I stress again, you can of course use whomsoever you wish.

Thanks, Sharon Evans - Director of Cle France Ltd.

Current rates:

Friday 21st April 2017 at 10:55

£1.00 GBP = 1.1956 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.2798 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.6987 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.8258 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7232 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 16.8583 ZAR

Do you want more information ?

So if you need to buy or sell sterling and would like to be kept up to date with all the latest data releases and exchange rate movements then feel free to contact myself Ben Amrany. If you are buying or selling a house in France we will make sure your monies are in the right place at the right time, we work hand in hand with you and Cle France.

For more information on the currency service I can provide please feel free to contact myself...

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.