Will the Olympics affect the euro exchange rate? Buy now or in September?

[PKB]

Headed to the Mediterranean in September.  Euro exchange rate is favorable right now.  Just wondering of the Olympics will cause the value of the euro to rise....costing more if I wait until we arrive....

[Arizona Wildcat]

Olympics - No.  Insignificant compared to the relative interest rates of the US and the EU, Ukraine and other World events.  Predicting exchange rates is sort of like gambling.  No way to predict moves.

[orville99]

23 minutes ago, PKB said:

Headed to the Mediterranean in September.  Euro exchange rate is favorable right now.  Just wondering of the Olympics will cause the value of the euro to rise....costing more if I wait until we arrive....

Doubtful that anyone knows the answer to that. There are so many variables (economic, geopolitical, social, etc.) in play on a daily basis that the ability to predict the future value of a reserve currency 3-6 months in advance is impossible.

[jlawrence01]

28 minutes ago, PKB said:

Headed to the Mediterranean in September.  Euro exchange rate is favorable right now.  Just wondering of the Olympics will cause the value of the euro to rise....costing more if I wait until we arrive....

 

For years, I purchased foreign currency contracts on the Euros as a hedge to currency fluctuations as my company had significant exposure to Euros as we had a lot of sales in the EU.

It is NOT something that I would really recommend speculating on as you have NO control over the events that will happen in Europe.

 

Having said that, there is nothing keeping you from buying currency and holding it for later trips.  Do realize that you may come out ahead and look like a genius OR maybe not.

 

The ONLY currency that I have been able to predict with a small amount of certainty is the Canadian dollar which generally is pretty much tied to the price of cruse oil.

 

 

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, PKB said:

Headed to the Mediterranean in September.  Euro exchange rate is favorable right now.  Just wondering of the Olympics will cause the value of the euro to rise....costing more if I wait until we arrive....

how much cash do you expect to need? Credit Cards are accepted just about everywhere so the amount of cash you will need is minimal. Just make sure you have a Credit Card that doesn't charge a currency fee and that all your transactions are in Euro - don't let any store do the conversion for you.

If you do have Euro left don't change it back use it for any extra tips on the ship - the crew will happily take any currency and X handles any conversions for them at preferential rates.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

21 minutes ago, the penguins said:

how much cash do you expect to need? Credit Cards are accepted just about everywhere so the amount of cash you will need is minimal. Just make sure you have a Credit Card that doesn't charge a currency fee and that all your transactions are in Euro - don't let any store do the conversion for you.

If you do have Euro left don't change it back use it for any extra tips on the ship - the crew will happily take any currency and X handles any conversions for them at preferential rates.

We just save Euros  for our next trip 😁

[mom says]

Will a sporting event affect global currency exchange rates? Highly unlikely. Billions, if not trillions, are moved daily. The amount exchanged specifically for the Olympics is miniscule in  comparison. Factors that do move the rates are things like national interest rates, inflationary changes (in either direction), economic growth, political stability, trade agreements - the big stuff.

 

Predicting currency rates is like predicting the stock market. Way above the head of most people. For the small amount of cash needed for a few weeks in Europe,  it's really not worth worrying about. Getting Euros now from a US financial institution could very well cost more than getting cash from an ATM when you arrive in Europe.

Edited April 4 by mom says

[Baron Barracuda]

The Olympics are an infinitesimally minor event In the overall scheme of world finance

[Ourusualbeach]

Large changes in currency valuations usually happen over years and not months.  Over months you might be looking at a swing of a few cents one way or the other.  Even on buying $1000 you might be talking a change of $50.  It's not huge money you are talking about in the grand scheme of things when you look at the cost of the cruise and airfare.  

 

 

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

We just save Euros  for our next trip 😁

We do the same with $ but not everyone comes more than once and a lot don't realise that they can tip in any currency. 

[TeeRick]

Maybe if it were a local currency in a very small country hosting the Olympics.  But definitely not the Euro.

[crewsweeper]

Current Euro futures for September are less than 9/10 of a cent higher than cash.Reflects cost of carry for 6 months. So traders aren't expecting any major shift at present.