A practical foreign exchange and currency guide to Portugal
What's in this Portugal currency guide:
The official currency of Portugal is the euro, with symbol € and currency code EUR.
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.
As the tragic Ukraine war continues USD/EUR is near 0.95, a 5 year high.
Due to the Eurozone’s reliance on gas from Russia, the euro is very vulnerable to the events in Ukraine with EUR/USD dropping to around 1.06 by the end of April whereas it had been approaching 1.15 in early February.
At the start of the tragic Russian invasion of Ukraine the euro sank to parity against the safe-haven Swiss franc hitting 0.9985 francs per euro on March 7th, the lowest since January 2015.
By the end of April the euro fell to a 5-Year low around 1.05 against the US dollar and the short term news for the single currency is all negative. Global bans against Russian oil and gas and uncertainty over ECB interest rate plans have prompted predictions in the currency markets for parity for the euro against the greenback this year.
Date | EUR/USD | Change | Period |
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05 May 2022 | 1.0540 | 0.4% ▲ | 2 Week |
18 Feb 2022 | 1.1322 | 6.5% ▼ | 3 Month |
19 May 2021 | 1.2171 | 13% ▼ | 1 Year |
20 May 2017 | 1.1208 | 5.5% ▼ | 5 Year |
21 May 2012 | 1.2788 | 17.2% ▼ | 10 Year |
24 May 2002 | 0.9210 | 14.9% ▲ | 20 Year |
The below comparison table makes it easy to find the best exchange rates and lowest fees when you want to make a Transfer or Spend Euro.
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Portugal has been popular with European vacationers. Beaches and high mountains aside, the rest of Portugal is a diverse and verdant country of deep valleys and rolling hills dotted with stone-built villages. The country has with excellent sandy beaches and rugged coastline, as well as cosmopolitan and architecturally-stunning cities. Portugal is an affordable city, prices don’t go to high and you can sleep comfortably and eat cheaply with ease.
A city metro ticket will generally start from 1.50 EUR. Inter-country trains and buses are inexpensive. Food, accommodation, wine is all very cheap, especially when compared to other EU countries. Taxis are a expensive way of getting around.