The predicted reduction of interest rate by the European Central Bank hasn't happened yet. As a consequence the pound which was starting to rally against the euro has slipped back again and is for all intents and purposes on par.
You would naturally expect that companies that trade online and offer prices in euros or pounds would reflect the prevailing rate of exchange. That is not necessarily the case. It pays to check what rate they are offering even if it means checking the price in both currencies.
There are some instances where you are not offered a choice.
We went online to book some flights to the the UK and back the other night. Because our outward flight is from Spain, the booking system gives a price in euros. There is no way we can get around that. If we then go on to book a return flight to Spain that is also quoted in euros.
The alternative of course is to book an outward journey which will be in euros and book a return journey separately which will then be in sterling. The comparison between the fares offered can be very illuminating.
Taking a random example of a return flight from Manchester to Murcia priced at 28.51€. Booking the same flight in sterling gives a price of £15.49. That means that the airline are offering an exchange rate of 1.84€ to the pound for the privilege of booking in euros.
As far as I know the commercial exchange rate has never been anywhere near 1.84 since the euro was first introduced. At the current rate this represents a profit of over 80%% on the exchange. Now I call that a rip off.
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