Frequently Asked Questions - Interest and Exchange rates
This is a selection of the most frequently asked questions along with answers. The contents will be updated on an ongoing basis.
Interest and Exchange Rates: If you require any further assistance on this subject please contact us
Q. How do I find the USD/£ rate?
A. Look at the Spot Exchange Rates on the Statistical Interactive
Database.
Q. What is the difference between the spot and effective
exchange rates?
A. Spot exchange rates are one value against another, ie £1
= $1.87
An Effective Exchange rate is a measure of the value of a currency
against a trade-weighted ‘basket’ of other currencies,
relative to the base date. It is calculated as a weighted, geometric
average, expressed in the form of an index.
Q. Where can I find the yield curve data on your website?
A. There is a separate link on the Statistics main page (estimates
of UK Yield curves).
Q. Can you tell me what the Bank of England ‘interest
rate’ was in 1970?
A. There is a link to a separate spreadsheet showing the official Bank Rate going back to 1694 on the Statistics main page.
Q. Do we collect all currencies in our exchange rates
data?
A. No, we only collect a certain few, mainly the most commonly
used.
Q. Are you also responsible for updating Bloomberg with
hourly exchange rate data?
A. No, the only data we receive is from our dealers during the
late afternoon, which we update on the Statistical Interactive
database with at 9.30 the following day.
