Weak pound 'hurting foreign property owners'

The fall in the value of sterling is causing major problems for British people who own property overseas or spend a lot of time abroad, a currency expert has claimed.

Reaching a five-month low against the euro last week, the pound has now declined in value by 26 per cent since August 2007.

Duncan Higgins, senior analyst at Caxton FX, said the situation is making life increasingly difficult for foreign property owners, with many older people now struggling to fund their retirement.

’The idea of retiring abroad has become an unsustainable dream for some retirees. Pensioners cannot afford to support their lifestyles overseas with such weak exchange rates,’ he commented.

Mr Higgins added that the euro is ’likely to remain high through 2009’, with many British retires opting to transfer their pensions into European bank accounts.

Last week, Bank of England governor Mervyn King suggested that a fall in sterling could be beneficial for the UK’s economic recovery.
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