The Czech currency has strengthened against most world currencies, which means that Czechs will get more value for their money during their summer vacations compared to last year, according to an analysis by investment company Portu. The Czech koruna has appreciated by four percent against the euro and the US dollar, 76 percent against the Egyptian pound, and 29 percent against the Turkish lira.
Euro is the most commonly used currency by Czechs during their foreign vacations, especially in popular destinations such as Croatia, Italy, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany. Over the past year, the koruna has strengthened by nearly four percent against the euro. For instance, if a family exchanged an amount of 40,000 Czech korun into euros a year ago, they would have received 1,624 euros. Today, they would get 64 euros more.
However, since mid-April, the Czech koruna has been weakening against the euro, with the exchange rate currently at 23.71 CZK/EUR, compared to 23.46 CZK/EUR. The Czech currency is not expected to remain at such solid levels for an extended period. Therefore, it may be advantageous for Czechs to exchange their money sooner rather than later.
A similar situation can be observed with the exchange rate against the US dollar. The koruna has appreciated over four percent against the dollar, reaching 21.97 CZK/USD, but it has recently weakened. Using a hypothetical example, a Czech family would now receive 80 dollars more than last year. Like with the euro, analysts predict that the koruna will continue to weaken, suggesting that delaying currency exchange may not be wise.
The most significant year-on-year change is seen in the exchange rate between the Czech koruna and the Egyptian pound, with the Czech currency appreciating by 76 percent. In the same hypothetical example, a Czech family that received over 32,000 Egyptian pounds for 40,000 korun last year would now have more than 56,000 pounds.
It is worth noting that Czech exchange offices often do not offer the Egyptian pound, and exchanging koruna in Egypt is not possible. Therefore, it is commonly recommended to exchange koruna for euros or US dollars before traveling to Egypt and perform the currency exchange on-site if necessary.
The Czech koruna has also strengthened by 29 percent against the Turkish lira. With the current exchange rate of 1.11 CZK per lira, a family exchanging money would receive 8,000 lire more than last year.
The future exchange rate of the Turkish lira will mainly depend on the outcome of the upcoming Turkish presidential elections. If President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins again, his significant influence on the Turkish central bank suggests that the bank’s policies will likely continue to weaken the lira.
Regarding other currencies, the exchange rate between the Czech koruna and the Hungarian forint has not significantly changed over the past year. Although the koruna has appreciated by 1.8 percent against the forint, the difference was more significant at the beginning of the year, and the koruna has been losing ground against the forint since then. Currently, the exchange rate stands at 15.85 HUF/CZK.
A similar trend can be observed with the Polish zloty, where the koruna has appreciated by 1.7 percent over the past year, with the exchange rate at 5.27 PLN/CZK. However, the koruna has weakened against the zloty in the last two months.