Right now, the pound, which was worth $2 just over a year ago, languishes at just $1.37. Tourists get hit even worse, with many High Street banks offering no more than $1.32. Similarly, the euro, which hovered around €1.50 for every pound not so long ago, has strengthened such that it's around €1.03 at most tourist outlets - or, for all intents and purposes, one-for-one.
So whilst we get fleeced when now travelling to the Continent or the US, the situation is just as bad if shopping online. For example, take the recently-released GeForce GTX 295 from NVIDIA. It's available in the US for $499, plus taxes, which has been, historically, the price of most ultra-high-end graphics cards.
Looking at UK etailers though, the price is some £400, continuing upwards, and it's not a case of them taking a larger-than-normal chunk for their profit. Rather, buy-in prices have increased, dramatically so in light of the weak pound. Just over a year ago a $499 video-card would have cost some £300, including VAT, I'd imagine.
So UK (r)etailers are facing the double-whammy of shrinking customer budgets that are further compromised by higher prices for technology. I clearly remember Radeon HD 4870 1GB cards costing a touch less than £200, five months ago, yet they're now over that figure. Technology is supposed to become cheaper over time, right?
On a more pragmatic note, have you put off holidays abroad because the pound simply isn't going far enough?
An aside, go back 17 years and Gordon Brown had some sage advice for us: "A weak currency arises from a weak economy, which in turn is the result of a weak government".
