Sales of euros surge due to strong sterling

Thousands of Britons are cashing in on the strong pound and buying their euros weeks or even months in advance of their summer holidays, say foreign currency brokers.

Travel agency and foreign exchange broker, Thomas Cook, reported a surge in the number of customers buying European holidays and the amount of euros they were buying. The number of euro transactions were up by one third from the same time last year it said, whilst sales by value were up by 65 per cent.

During the last two weeks alone, Thomas Cook said they had sold more than 31 million euros, at a cost of £22.8 million.

The head of exchange at Thomas Cook, Fraser Millar, said that some customers were buying euros in advance of their summer holidays while others were buying them before they had even booked a holiday.

The Post Office also said that its sales of euros were up by more than fifty per cent on the same time last year. During the last week in January when the euro was at its lowest against the pound, sales rose by as much as 363 per cent.

Saga Travel reported that its euro sales between February and April were twice as much as they were during the same period last year. Asda Money reported an increase of 20 per cent.

Andrew Brown, of Post Office Money, said that customers are more likely to choose their holiday destination based on where they can get the best value for their money.

The pound is not only strong against the euro but has also made gains against other popular holiday currencies, such as the Turkish lira and the Thai baht. Sales of the Croatian kuna increased by 91 per cent in April of this year, compared to the same month in 2014.