MORTGAGE holders, consumers of foreign products and people taking foreign holidays will soon feel the impact of the fall in the value of the pound on international currency markets.

Variable rate mortgage holders will face higher monthly repayments following the Central Bank's decision to raise the interest rate on funds it lends to financial institutions. Consumers may have to pay more for imported products, while people going on foreign holidays will find that their pound buys less.

But for exporters, a weaker pound is good news - it means that Irish products will be cheaper on foreign markets.

The fall in the pound from 95p sterling to around 92 1/2p in recent days means importers will now have to pay more for the goods they buy abroad. These higher costs could be translated into higher prices in shops for a whole range of goods ranging from magazines to oil.

The pound has fallen against most major currencies - it is about 4 per cent weaker against sterling, the deutschmark and the dollar.

An importer has two choices - pass on the higher cost to consumers in the form of higher prices or take a cut in profits. Strong competition in some areas of the retail market, such as white goods, may inhibit price rises.

Holidaymakers heading abroad will find that their pound buys less. Last week £100 would have bought about DM267 (before commission and charges). Now the same money would buy only DM259. People will find it more expensive to eat, drink and be merry in most foreign locations.

Home buyers who did not take out fixed interest rate mortgages will find their monthly repayments rising in comings weeks. With the Central Bank now charging the financial institutions half a percentage point more for short term funds and higher rates on the wholesale money markets where financial institutions lend and borrow from each other, increases in mortgage rates seem inevitable.

Monthly repayments on a 20 year 7 per cent variable rate mortgage of £40,000 will rise by £12.40 to £327.20 if interest rates are increased by a half of a percentage point. Repayments on a £60,000 mortgage will rise by £18.60 a month to £491.

However, exporters will get a competitive advantage on foreign markets from the fall in the value of the pound. They will be able to charge lower prices for their products without reducing profit margins. Exporters suffered as the pound rose against foreign currencies over recent months many had to cut their profit margins rather than raise prices and lose sales.