THE EURO gained more than 1.35c against sterling today – making the € worth 86.2p sterling.
The rapid collapse of sterling was based on poor economic figures in the UK where the economy contracted by 0.5% in the last three months of 2010.
The news is bad for Donegal retailers after several weeks of a weaker € made our goods and services more competitive with the North.
The UK Office for National Statistics blamed the poor weather in November and December for the shock contraction in the UK economy.
British chancellor George Obsborne said: “These are obviously disappointing numbers, but the ONS has made it very clear that the fall in GDP was driven by the terrible weather in December.
“We have had the coldest weather since records began in 1910 and this has clearly had a much bigger impact on the economy than anyone expected. It’s notable that sectors of the economy that are less affected by the poor weather, such as manufacturing, continue to perform strongly, helping to rebalance our economy.”
In all of these fluctuations there are winners and losers.
Donegal people working in the North will take home less pay as a result of the collapse in the pound.
