HERE is what the falling pound means for your money – from petrol prices and beer, to holiday cash and new iPhones.
Today, the pound sterling fell to its lowest level against the dollar since decimalisation in 1971 – and it’s bound to have an impact on you.
Holiday money
A drop in the pound‘s value is a blow for anyone buying holiday cash now as you’ll get fewer dollars for each sterling you exchange.
If the value of the pound versus the dollar is $1.05/£1 then for every £100 you change up, you get £105 dollars.
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The sterling has also fallen against the euro.
Today £1 is worth €1.11, down from €1.19 two months ago.
That means buying anything abroad seems more expensive, and can impact on what you can afford to do on your holiday.
There are some steps you can take to make your travel money go further.
These are specific debit and credit cards designed for using abroad, which won’t charge you for each transaction like a standard card will.
Petrol
Two days ago the weak pound started hitting drivers in the pocket, despite petrol prices falling.
Petrol prices dropped to below 166p a litre for the first time since May on Wednesday.
But oil is priced in dollars and the weak pound has already added almost a fiver more to a tank of fuel when filling up at the pumps, according to the AA.
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Luke Bosdet, the AA’s fuel price spokesman, said: “The weaker pound very bad news for motorists.”
Beer
The boss of Carlsberg Martsons, Paul Davies, has warned the fall of the pound could cause a rise in beer prices for UK customers.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the drop was “worrying” for the British beer industry, because brewers import hops from overseas.
When asked if the value of the pound mattered, Mr Davies said: “Yes it does, many of the hops used in this country are actually imported and a lot of them, particularly for craft brewers, are imported from the States, so changes in currency is actually worrying for industry, for sure.”
Technology
In the coming weeks shoppers will face higher prices because British companies import goods in dollars, and will have to pass that price on.
This is said to particularly affect electronics – as well as fashion and ingredients.
So, if you’re planning to snatch up a new iPhone, be careful – it may have just shot up in price.
Fuel bills
Energy bills will keep rising because despite gas and oil prices falling because the market is priced in dollars.
But, as households will have their bills capped, there will be no impact for most people.
Mortgages
Some two million people in the UK on a tracker or variable rate mortgage could see their monthly costs going up even further as a result of the pound drop.
Some lenders are understood to have pulled some of their fixed rate products as the industry braces for another rise to interest rates.
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Further action by the Bank of England (BoE) to increase rates could impact the cost of borrowing, including loans, credit cards and mortgage repayments more expensive.
At the moment, the BoE has ruled out emergency rate rise but it might raise rates again next time – which could see repayments will go up.
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