Devaluation

4 Pounds Sterling – On White Set – P9053075
Originally uploaded by isdky

Today the pound fell below 9 Danish crowns, and below $1.50.

The fall against the crown (which follows the euro) has been gradual – when I moved here in 2002, the exchange rate was around DKK 12 to the pound, but it soon fell a bit, and it stayed between 10 and 11 for quite some time. However, since Brown was made Prime Minister, it’s been falling and falling, but this is a new low. I’m sure it hasn’t been that low since the early 1990s.

The fall against the dollar is much more recent – just a few months ago, the pound was worth more than $2.

For some reason, people in the UK don’t seem overly worried. Perhaps they didn’t learn at school like I did that devaluing your currency is like peeing in your trousers on a winter day – it feels good at first but soon makes you feel much colder than before!