Sterling’s held onto the significant gains it made late on Wednesday against the euro. It also benefitted on Thursday from better-than-expected data from the UK, with net lending released at £4.9 billion compared to the market projection of £4.4 billion – which contributed to a positive movement for sterling against its rivals, with the euro currency exchange rate hitting a two-month high and sterling regaining most, if not all, of the loses it had made against the US dollar on the previous day.

Mortgage approvals data disappointed, however, registering at levels lower than expected. Sterling broadly brushed off the impact of this data, but suffered from pressure caused by the UK growth report for the third quarter.

It’s a quiet day for the UK today in terms of economic data from home ground. Investors will be looking to events elsewhere for clues of factors that could move sterling markets, though.

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The euro had a disappointing day and an even more disappointing week, having remained at the low levels of the week against the US dollar and sterling. On Thursday inflation data was released from Germany; this was better than expected at 0%, up from the forecast of -0.1%. But the main damage was done earlier on in the week, with the European Central Bank likely to loosen monetary policy further in December or in the first quarter of 2016.

It’s likely to be a busy day for the Eurozone economy today, with three key pieces of data due. Very early this morning retail sales data from Germany was released; this was forecast to improve from a negative -0.4% up to a positive 0.4%. Later on at 10am inflation data from the Eurozone is released; this is likely to increase slightly from -0.1% to 0%. Any figure above 0% takes the Eurozone back into inflationary levels, which would be a huge boost for the single currency.

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It has been a strong week for the US dollar, initially strengthening over a cent against sterling, which it gave back on Thursday, and gaining just short of two cents against euro. This was mainly contributed to less dovish comments made in the US Federal Reserve Statement. Data releases have been less than impressive for the US, with durable goods orders dropping further than expected and advance growth figures falling just short of the expected figure.

The focus on this week was on the US Federal Reserve statement. Federal Reserve members voted in favour of leaving interest rates at an all-time low, but comments suggested that they are certainly leaving the door open for an interest rate hike in December.

Today we can look forward to both personal spending and personal income data – both are expected to post growth in these areas. Following this, we have Federal Reserve member Williams speaking – here, anything interest rate focused will have an impact on the markets.

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It was a less than an ideal start to the week for the New Zealand economy when its trade balance figure was NZ$400million below expectation. This caused a sharp drop in the market but it corrected itself quickly and actually gained on sterling and the US dollar on Tuesday when it was announced the country’s cash rate would stay the same. However, the currency dropped further this week, falling nearly 1.5% against the US dollar as US interest rates now seem to be on an upward trend from December.

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With no significant data released from the UK yesterday, sterling’s fate was left in the hands of its two main trading counterparties, especially those of the US, as the Federal Reserve were holding their monthly meeting and the subsequent press announcement is always very closely scrutinized for any “helpful” comments.

This time around it was what was missing from the statement which caused sterling to gain over a cent against the euro and lose a cent against the US dollar – i.e. there was no mention of worries over the world economy and its possible effect on the US economy – which has increased the likelihood of the US increasing their interest rates in December.

The UK currency will be in for a slightly busier morning today as the markets continue to analyse last night’s press announcement and also on the data front, with the focus being month-on-month net lending figures. The trend over the past few months has been positive and this is set to continue with an expected figure of £4.4 billion.

If you are looking to buy or sell sterling, we suggest contacting your trader now for live rates, news and currency-purchasing strategies.

The day started off on a poor note for the euro but had almost no effect on the market when French consumer confidence fell slightly from 97 to 96, and German consumer confidence held steady, remaining at the same level as the previous month. Following this, it was a positive day for the euro, particularly after ECB member Hansson stated that ‘he sees no convincing reason for further policy action at the next meeting’. This pushed expectations for any further quantitative easing back until December. Then the US Federal Reserve held their press conference and the euro went into freefall against the US dollar and sterling as the likelihood of the US increasing interest rates pre-Christmas increased significantly.

After a couple of quiet days on the data front for the euro, today is likely to have an impact on the market. Germany unemployment data is forecast to remain at 6.4%. The consumer price index (CPI) from Germany is expected to increase slightly from -0.2 up to -0.1%. Investors will be watching this closely as the CPI is a measure of inflation.

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It was quiet for the US dollar during the day on Wednesday, with minimal data released. Focus was on the US Federal Reserve interest rate decision and the statement that follows and this statement sent the currency markets into overdrive. Not from what it said but from what it omitted. It omitted the caveat about the world economy possibly depressing the US economy which has increased the likelihood of a December interest rate rise which strengthened the US dollar across the board.

Following the interest rate decision and statement yesterday evening, we can look forward to a busy day today, with advance growth figures released in the early afternoon. This is expected to show six months of consecutive growth; any surprises could cause movement in dollar markets. Weekly unemployment claims are also released, and expected to show another positive figure.

If you are looking to buy or sell US dollars, we suggest contacting your trader now for live rates, news and currency-purchasing strategies.

It was a dismal day for the Australian economy yesterday as the Australian dollar fell most other major currencies. Inflation data fell 0.2% below expectation, and investors will have an eye on the release of their import prices this morning. Environmental factors could have a significant effect Australia’s prosperity in the near future, as the country is preparing for the worst El Nino in 18 years. It is believed that the dry weather could slow Australia to its slowest growth in 24 years.

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