Travelling to Britain is looking like a cheaper-than-usual option for Kiwis.
The British pound continues to languish as uncertainty reigns over the political future of the United Kingdom.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a rare intervention into an industrial matter yesterday, calling a planned strike by British Airways cabin crew "deplorable" - risking a major fallout with key union backers ahead of the general election.
Financial markets fear a minority or coalition Government resulting from the elections would fail to cut Britain's budget deficit, forecast to reach £178 billion ($380 billion) this year, or 12 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.
Outgoing Bank of England policymaker Kate Barker's comments that the UK economy may contract again for one quarter, and data from property website Rightmove showing a dip in house price growth, also hurt the pound.
Adam Cole, global head of foreign exchange strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said:
"Politics continues to weigh heavily on sterling, leaving it the worst performing G10 currency by a large margin. "The political risk premium built into sterling is large, but in our view, not large enough."
Westpac senior currency strategist Imre Speizer said the kiwi hit a post-float high of 47.46p against the pound on March 10.
The New Zealand dollar sat at 46.82p at 7.30pm last night. Against the US, the kiwi was at US70.44c from US70.15c on Monday.
Speizer said the economic, fiscal and political picture in Britain continued to deteriorate and drive down the pound, while the situation in New Zealand was much more "benign".
- Christopher Adams and agencies
Trip to UK looks cheap as pound slides
Kiwis travelling to London can cash in their dollars for pounds at almost two to one. Photo / Herald on Sunday
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