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...the voice of pensioners

Money around the world

25 May 2019

Dear LPG,

 

It is now just gone 5 O’clock in the morning and I can’t sleep so I have spent the past 40 minutes with two of the best things I can think of keeping me company when that happens; a cup of hot chocolate and my tablet (the electronic one). 

 

I am a typical octogenarian I suppose, not really interested in politics or economics, but today I was reminded about something I found on your site (►►►), and a bit of lateral thinking guided a little look at  just how influential the £ Sterling is as a world currency. 

 

I was a bit disappointed to find out that we only rate fifth as the currency with the highest value in the world at the moment.  I was also quite surprised at some of the units of currency that rate higher than our £.  I regard myself as a person of at least average intelligence, but I have never heard of some of the currencies that rate higher.  I have to concede that I have never actually heard of the Dinar or Rial before.  In my ignorance I thought that the £ was up there with the best of them but… not really.

 

I then took a look at another list.  This one indexed the most traded currencies of the world and that told a different story; perhaps one closer to what I would expect. At least I have heard of the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen, but even there, we are ranked 4th, and I suppose it is predictable that the Euro is still further up this list at number two. 

 

But that is how things are today, February 20th 2019.  I know that the lists change from day to day and so by the time LPG readers get to the websites it may have changed. I have asked LPG to share it soon as it may well all be different, but I now know that, when looking at the world picture, my savings are not worth as much as I thought they were.

 

GJ, Penge

 

GJ has asked us to share some web information that may interest some of our readers but, LPG reminds that GJ is right when mentioning that, there are day to day changes which could make these websites look very different now from when pen was put to paper (or finger to keypad).

 

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