The euro (ISO: EUR) is involved in slightly more than 30% of all foreign exchange deals, and as such, is the world’s second most traded currency, behind the US dollar.
The euro is the currency of the eurozone (officially called the ‘euro area’), which consists of 19 of the 28 member states of the European Union, and is used by almost 350 million Europeans. It was introduced in January 1999.
Of all the thousands of exchange rates that exist in the world, the euro-to-US dollar exchange rate is the most actively traded, or most ‘liquid’.
Since its introduction, the euro’s lowest value against the dollar came in October 2000 when EUR/USD hit lows of 0.8231. The currency was strongest in July 2008, shortly before the worst stage of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when EUR/USD reached 1.6038.
There are currently more than twenty nations and territories which peg their currencies to the euro, the largest of which is Denmark.
EUR News, Forecasts and Trends
EUR will fall to 0.80 against the British pound according to Standard Bank. The coronavirus pandemic has replaced Brexit in the headlines and means that the deadline for a trade deal with the Eurozone this year could either be pushed back, delaying a risk for the currency, or see more favorable terms given to the U.K.
Rabobank told Bloomberg TV in early April that they see the Euro holding its value in an otherwise difficult virus affected year for most currencies.
The Euro spent 2019 on a downwards trajectory, starting the year with highs at US1.1550 but then slid all year until October where it bottomed out at US$1.09 on Oct 1, close to long-term lows. Since then it has climbed back up towards the average rate for the year of US1.12, perhaps due to the less uncertainty around Brexit.
For more EUR currency market forecasts you can read the full article Euro Forecasts. The below interactive chart shows the USD to EUR exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.
Recent USD to EUR 90-day trend
ALERTS:7-DAY▼3.2% | 60-DAY LOWS |
USD/EUR at 0.8815 was trading 3.4% belowAVG:0.9126 with LO:0.8739 and HI:0.9381 (90 days). ALERTS: USD/EUR was DOWN 3.2% this 7-DAY period and also dropped to 60-DAY LOWS.
Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for the Eurozone
When arriving at any new destination for first time visitors it can't hurt to stop by the Tourist Point to get any free maps, discounts, and cost free events. Most decent hotels have free WiFi so try using this to avoid any surprise Roaming fees on your phone when you get back home. ATM and credit card use varies greatly between countries so purchasing a prepaid Travel Card before leaving for your travels can save time and hassle.
If you would like to travel by train and can book a fare way in advance you can save money by getting a pass for Europe's extensive train system that goes pretty much everywhere. You can check prices at sites like RailEurope. To save a lot of travel time and money you can book a sleeper cabin on an overnight train. While travelling across Europe by bus used to be uncomfortable there are now low cost luxury buses available. And now to save even more time at your locations instead of travelling to them, costs for flights have greatly reduced in recent years making it a very affordable and very fast way to get around. Depends on your preference.
For more travel tips and ideas on ways to save money when traveling in the Eurozone read our EU Travel guide
Travel money for the Eurozone
Save money and time by Ordering your Euro online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick
up the EUR cash locally or even on travel day at the airport.
Another popular option is to
use a Pre-paid Travel Card. Your Debit/Credit Card provider will charge you 2% from market mid-rate,
but your bank may also charge an extra 3% as an “Overseas Transaction Charge” plus “Overseas ATM” fees for withdrawing cash.
For card purchases if offered a choice of currencies always select to
Pay in Euro otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.
When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to the Eurozone you need to start with finding out the latest
Euro foreign-transfer exchange rate.
Then compare your bank's exchange rates to several licensed FX providers exchange rate and fees to see how much
you can save (we make that calculation easy here).
Get a better deal for foreign transfers to the Eurozone
When sending money to the Eurozone it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers.
To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :
Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
You specify the local or Euro amount you want to transfer
Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
Once your funds are received by the provider the converted EUR amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in the Eurozone.
Use our Send to Euro calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more -
end result is more Euro deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!
