Could You Reach Your Money From the Departure Lounge?

The Big Story: Could You Reach Your Money From the Departure Lounge?

Pieter is a Dutch reservoir engineer in Dhahran. His salary arrives in riyals, his children go to an international school down the road, and most of his savings sit in the Saudi bank account he opened in his first week. His pension is back in the Netherlands. Last week he watched the American embassy send its non-essential staff and their families home, and he asked himself something most Gulf expats never ask. If we had to leave on Friday, what could we reach?

The order, issued on 21 October, covers American government staff only. It followed weeks of Houthi drone and missile attacks on Saudi airports and oil sites. That same day a drone strike on the Shaybah oil field killed two expatriate workers. Riyadh’s main airport, shut since 10 October, has only just reopened, and Britain is sending fighter jets to help defend the kingdom.

Oil rose about 6% over the week to its highest close since April.

Most Gulf expats keep their safety net in the place they would be leaving. A local account works well until the day you need it from Amsterdam or Kuala Lumpur. The riyal is tied to the dollar, so Pieter’s savings sit in one country and, in effect, one currency. The fix is to keep about six months of spending outside the country, in the currency the family would spend if it moved. Hold the long-term money on a platform you can reach from anywhere, in Irish-domiciled funds that do not care where you live.

If you are in the Gulf and want to work out what your family could reach in a week, and in which currency, that is a half-hour conversation. Book a time here.

What Else Is Moving

Gold was sold first. Gold fell about 4% last week and closed below $4,000 for the first time since July. Investors who lost money on technology shares had to raise cash fast, and gold is quick to sell. Dearer oil also makes it likelier that interest rates stay high, and gold pays no interest.

France’s borrowing costs hit their highest since 2002. The interest rate the French government pays to borrow for ten years jumped on Thursday, amid mass protests and a stalled 2027 budget. Moody’s kept France’s credit rating but left a warning on it. The euro slipped about half a percent against the dollar over the week.

British inflation rose to 3.5%. September’s figure was above forecast and the highest in almost a year, with petrol and diesel the biggest drivers. Martin Beck of the consultancy WPI called a Bank of England rate rise on 5 November “almost inevitable”.

Wednesday is crowded. The UK Budget lands on Wednesday afternoon London time, about 8:30pm in Kuala Lumpur. The Federal Reserve decides a few hours later, around 2am on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur. Any move in the pound that night will have two causes, and the headlines will name one.

The Expat Takeaway

When an embassy sends families home, people who live nearby start checking their own arrangements.

The families who come through weeks like this calmly made their plans in a quiet month. Three questions are worth answering this week:

• If you had to leave your country of residence in seven days, could you reach six months of spending from wherever you landed?
• Is that money in the currency your family would spend next?
• Does your long-term portfolio depend on where you happen to live?

Gulf professionals are better placed than most to fix this. Tax-free salaries and high savings rates mean the buffer can be built in months. If all three answers are yes, this is a week to watch. If one is no, that is the work, and it is easier done now than in a hurry.