Cheap Money

As the biggest peacetime exodus from the U.S. to Europe was reaching its peak last week, there came some dollar-saving advice for the 1,250,000 tourists who will spend $2 billion abroad this year. Nicholas Deak, who heads Manhattan's Deak & Co. and Perera Co. foreign-exchange companies, said that travelers could save millions by buying their foreign currency on the U.S. free market before they leave. As it is, most travelers buy their lire, pesetas and francs abroad, where currency is often pegged at unrealistically high official rates. Travelers can beat the official rate by trading in the black market, but they risk being stuck with counterfeit bills or a fistful of paper wrapped in bank notes.

Deak figures that the best bargain in New York is in currencies of countries that have no import limits, although their official rates stand much higher than the free rate. Among these are France's franc (which was selling in the U.S. last week at 395 to the dollar, v. 350 in Paris), Bolivia's boliviano (5,5DEGDEG ". 190), Argentina's peso. Even where limits exist--as in Spain, Finland, Turkey--tourists can take in the legal amount and still make a saving. Where money is stable and the saving small, travelers still find it handy to take along local money for early-arrival tips, taxis, incidentals.

Some examples of the spread, based on the dollar, between official and free exchange rates:

N.Y. FREE MARKET OFFICIAL RATE Argentina 32 pesos to the $1 18 to the $1 Bolivia 5,500 bolivianos 190 Brazil 83 cruzeiros 18.75 Burma 10 kayats 4.76 Finland 300 marks France 395 francs 350 Japan 385 yen 360 Pakistan 6.40 rupees 4.76 Philippines 2.85 pesos Spain 43 pesetas Turkey 9.50 lire 2.80

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.