Luxembourg - Euro - Currency Guide

General Currency Info - Euro

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

The euro is currently a more appealing investment than the US dollar as fiscal support and COVID-19 containment open the door to a faster paced recovery than what is likely in the US. With current USD weakness and strong long-term prospects for the European Union, there is speculation that the euro could be a contender as the world’s new reserve currency. In the short term the euro could be susceptible to swings, however in the longterm the euro has very good prospects. The currency is poised to move above 1.1850 and extend toward 1.20 in coming weeks.

In mid-July euro strengthened four-month highs (around 1.15 against the US dollar) as european leaders delivered a difficult agreement on a coronavirus rescue package to help member states manage the economic downturn.

The historic stimulus package will see the bloc issue 750 billion euros (US$860 billion) of joint debt and is seen by market commentators as positive for the euro.

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 over the 1 year average of US1.11 towards US1.20.

For more EUR currency market forecasts you can read the full article Euro Forecasts. The above interactive chart shows the USD to EUR exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.

Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Luxembourg

Right in the middle of Europe, you’ll find the beautiful country of Luxembourg. A landlocked country, it’s full of forests, fairytale castles, and jagged gorges. The capital of the country is also called Luxembourg and is situated to the South of the Country. There is no King or Queen of Luxembourg. Instead, there’s a Grand Duke or Grand Duchess. The current Grand Duke is called Henri and he has been Grand Duke since 2000. Much like the Queen of England, the country celebrates his ‘official’ Birthday each year. With a successful steel, finance and high technology industry, a strategic location at the heart of Western Europe, more natural beauty than you might expect given its size, and as one of the three richest countries in the world, Luxembourg enjoys a very high standard of living.

How do I get around Luxembourg?

By train: The Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL) [7] train network is either comprehensive or spartan, depending whether you want to go south or north. While the south is reasonably well covered, the north is limited to one main line (Ligne 10) which runs from Luxembourg City via Mersch, Ettelbrück, Wilwerwiltz, Clervaux and Troisvierges. The line continues north into Belgium towards Liège. Trains in Luxembourg generally run very much on time and are modern and comfortable. As the fares are so cheap this is a good mode of transport to use when possible.

By Car: Driving in Luxembourg is nowhere as testing as in other European countries. The locals are polite, even when entering roundabouts. When entering the highways from side roads into the slower traffic lane, the other drivers will allow you to join the traffic line, but traffic indicators are essential. As with other highways in Europe always keep in the slow traffic lane, keeping the fast lane for overtaking. Normal day to day driving in Luxembourg is a delight but traffic does slow down in peak times.

What language is spoken in Luxembourg?

Luxembourgish ("Lëtzebuergesch") - a Germanic language that incorporates many French loan-words - is the national language. It is spoken natively by just over half of the native population, and is the main language of television and radio broadcasts. German ("Hochdeutsch") enjoys official status in Luxembourg. It is taught in schools, is the language of the press, court system and church, and is almost universally understood by the local population.

That being said, everything from road signs to menus to information in stores, will appear in French - which is the main language of the government. French therefore is clearly one of the most useful of the three official languages to know, particularly in the capital.

Travel money for Luxembourg

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.

Sending money to Luxembourg

When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to Luxembourg you need to start with finding out the latest Euro exchange rate for foreign-transfers, which can be very different to the wholesale 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 in the below table.

Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Luxembourg

When sending money to Luxembourg 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 :

1. Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
2. You specify the local or Euro amount you want to transfer
3. Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
4. Once your funds are received by the provider the converted EUR amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Luxembourg.

Use the above 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!