Would you buy euros now for an August trip before it gets more expensive.
 

My husband asked me if we should buy euros now for our august trip, the way the euro is rising I am afraid they will be too expensive in 6 months. What do you think. The bank is selling them at 1.71, and today's rate is 1.51. would it get worse. Please help.

I'd take my chances that things could stabilize and avoid giving the bank fees.

I think you've answered your own question.

You can check xe.com to see the increase over the past few months/year.

The bank markup is ridiculous. Do you think the Euro will go way higher than 1.71 in six months? It could go down. No telling.

And, how much you buy?

No one can give you a definitive answer as to what the exchange rate will be in August. If you are seeking opinions as to whether or not to buy, I will give you mine: I would not buy at the rate you quoted. Maybe if I were already in Europe I might exchange some extra dollars for a future time but I would certainly not buy them in the US. At any time. By the way, when I have euros left over at the end of a trip, I never convert them back to USD. I save them for my next trip.

the money you'd lose by paying $1.71 now would be money down the drain unless the euro incredibly leapt to say $1.80 then it would only be break even, with charges figured in - assuming your bank may also charge

You can pre-book and pay for hotels now in dollars or train travel and be immune from such price increases

I would think it highly unlikely the euro could climb that fast - chances are you'd lose money IMO

We never buy foreign currency in advance of travel. You'd be paying a 13% premium (to the bank) for a currency that's gone up 10% in the past six months. Even if the current rate of dollar devaluation against the € were to continue, you'd probably be mathematically better off by buying a 6-month CD with the dollars you'd convert today, then use the earnings on the CD to offset ATM charges when you finally travel.

Apart from the bank's ridiculous markup, this really isn't a one-way bet.

There's a real fight at the highest level in the Eurozone, with Sarkozy arguing that - whatever the rules seem to say - Euro interest rates should be cut to improve France's growth rate.

Who knows who'll win, or what the consequences are? But you and your husband are probably real experts at something - and that something probably isn't currency speculation (just like the rest of on this board). You'll make a lot more money by concentrating on what you're expert on. Try beating the world forex market, and it'll beat you.