Supply Issues Building Materials ...

[Dustydazzler]

Building projects hit by lack of supplies and price rises

Industry warns people to delay home improvement due to shortage of cement, electric components, timber and steel.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Rockingit]

After all the materials inflation fears a few months ago , the price of cable does seem to be holding fairly steady

£71.50 inc vat for 100m of 2.5 prysmian t&e from screwfix this week

Context: It's gone up 80% in around three years.

 

[nicebutdim]

On the world market, Copper is as expensive as its ever been - recently peaked slightly above where it traded 10 years ago.

Copper Prices - 45 Year Historical Chart

Interactive chart of historical daily COMEX copper prices back to 1971. The price shown is in U.S. Dollars per pound.

www.macrotrends.net

 

[Dustydazzler]

Context: It's gone up 80% in around three years.

Yes its blooming expensive compared to 3-4 years back , but at least it has levelled off in recent months which makes me more confident that prices hopefully won't shoot up when estimating jobs for December / January

 

[Mike Johnson]

If you watch the exchange rates between the Euro and GB the price is going up all the time, it's currently at just over 1.17 this has a significant effect on imported goods, about the worse time to be selling our house in France.

 

[mattg4321]

If you watch the exchange rates between the Euro and GB the price is going up all the time, it's currently at just over 1.17 this has a significant effect on imported goods, about the worse time to be selling our house in France.

It’s been roughly 1.15 ish for months if not years now?

 

[Mike Johnson]

It’s been roughly 1.15 ish for months if not years now?

As I said it's at 1.17 at the moment.

 

[nicebutdim]

As I said it's at 1.17 at the moment.

Couple of thousand per hundred thousand.

Not an insubstantial sum.

 

[mattg4321]

Annoying for Mike, but hardly a significant move in the context of forex.

 

[Mike Johnson]

But does have an effect on goods/materials imported from the EU, also duties to be paid, and hence the raw materials to manufacture cable.

 

[nicebutdim]

Just looked at the Euro's trading history. 20 years ago you'd have got €1.75 for your pound and in 2008 it was €1.02.

The average rate over the Euro's 20 year history to 2019 had been €1.33, with it's 10 year history in 2019 being €1.20. Prior to the Brexit referendum it traded at €1.30, so all told this particular exchange is on a fairly even keel.

For goods and materials I'd be inclined to look more closely at strength of currencies in countries where manufacturing takes place, rather than those within which we trade with distributors.

 

[Mike Johnson]

And when we joined the EU we where at four Euros too the GBP.

 

[nicebutdim]

We 'joined' the EU after Maastricht in 1993. Euro introduced 1999.

 

[Mike Johnson]

OK when the Euro was fist introduced then, sheesh.

 

[nicebutdim]

OK when the Euro was fist introduced then, sheesh.

I don't believe there has ever been a time when the £ was worth €4. I don't believe the € has even traded half as weakly as that, against the £.

 

[Avo Mk8]

From 1990 to date

 

[Avo Mk8]

I don't believe there has ever been a time when the £ was worth €4. I don't believe the € has even traded half as weakly as that, against the £.

Just had a look. 1960 the highest ever at 2.95. Didn't last ?

 

[nicebutdim]

Just had a look. 1960 the highest ever at 2.95. Didn't last ?

What currency was that? Certainly wasn't the € in 1960 - maybe something just flew over my head ?

 

[Avo Mk8]

What currency was that? Certainly wasn't the € in 1960 - maybe something just flew over my head ?

I believe its a Euroland 'calculated' average value of Eurozone countries exchange rates at the time. Supposed equivalent of a Euro before it existed. This is what happens when I ask a robot a stupid question ?

 

[Mike Johnson]

Well it got everyone going, including me, I concede, memory is not all it should be, suppose it's age related. ?

 

[nicebutdim]

I believe its a Euroland 'calculated' average value of Eurozone countries exchange rates at the time. Supposed equivalent of a Euro before it existed. This is what happens when I ask a robot a stupid question ?View attachment 90937

This is fascinating and bonkers in equal measure ?

 

[pc1966]

I believe its a Euroland 'calculated' average value of Eurozone countries exchange rates at the time. Supposed equivalent of a Euro before it existed.

It did and was called the ECU (before it, the EUA, but I never had dealing with that as a little before my time in business).

European Currency Unit - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Commonly used for large pan-Europe projects (e.g. by the like of ESA) so everyone had a similar pricing model to agree upon.

 

[nicebutdim]

It did and was called the ECU (before it, the EUA, but I never had dealing with that as a little before my time in business).

European Currency Unit - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Commonly used for large pan-Europe projects (e.g. by the like of ESA) so everyone had a similar pricing model to agree upon.

Interesting. I remember much talk of the ECU from my childhood, but never realised it had been in use (even if not in circulation). I'd thought the ECU was an idea being mooted at that time and that they'd settled on Euro as a less unusual name, once an actual European currency had been agreed upon.

 

[pc1966]

Interesting. I remember much talk of the ECU from my childhood, but never realised it had been in use (even if not in circulation). I'd thought the ECU was an idea being mooted at that time and that they'd settled on Euro as a less unusual name, once an actual European currency had been agreed upon.

I think at one point they talked about calling the pan-Europe currency the ECU as major businesses were already using it, but decided to go with something far more catchy and likely to get the public imagination fired up.

Then it became the Euro...

 

[DPG]

I think at one point they talked about calling the pan-Europe currency the ECU as major businesses were already using it, but decided to go with something far more catchy and likely to get the public imagination fired up.

Then it became the Euro...

I'm sure I've got an ECU coin in my coin collection.