EURO/GBP – 1.177
US$/GBP – 1.569
CHF/GBP – 1.561
CAN$/GBP – 1.603
AUS$/GBP – 1.639
ZAR/GBP – 11.028
JPY/GBP – 133.15
HKD/GBP – 12.172
NZD/GBP – 2.128
US$/EURO – 1.331

Sterling fell to a 2 month low against the euro yesterday after stronger than expected demand for Irish and Greek government bonds eased concerns over European sovereign debt. Ireland sold 100% of the 1.5bn worth of bonds on offer and Greece managed to sell 390m worth of bonds – 72% of what was on offer. This saw sterling hit a low of 1.1810/£1 as the single currency surged on the strong sentiment that was generated by the bond auction. Sterling wasn’t helped after data was released showing that UK public sector borrowing hit a record high for August as interest payouts on UK government bonds shot up as a result of stubbornly high inflation. The data showed that the UK public sector spent £15.3bn more last month than it took in. In terms of today, there is yet more risk that sterling will drop in the form of the minutes of the Bank of England’s recent interest rate meeting. With concerns that the Bank are considering further Quantitative Easing, investors are keen to cast an eye over the discussions and thoughts of the decision makers. Speak to a trader now to protect yourself against further movements.

In the Euro zone, there were concerns last week over the debt crisis in Europe, as rumours spread that Ireland was seeking help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These were quickly allayed yesterday as the bond markets gave the emerald isle a vote of confidence by snapping up the bonds that were on offer. Greece also surprised many, and despite only selling 72% of the bonds that were on offer, this was seen as a huge step towards recovering some confidence in the financial markets. Out later today there is some business sentiment data for Belgium which is unlikely to cause too much of a stir. Speak to a trader now as the euro is likely to remain volatile – especially vs. sterling and the US dollar.

In the USA, despite the US dollar coming under significant pressure on Monday ahead of yesterday’s Federal Reserve interest rate decision, the announcement turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. There had been concerns that a further round of emergency stimulus would be pumped into the economy, but the Federal Reserve issued an almost identical statement to last month stating that “additional accommodation would be given [to the economy] if required” i.e. they would pump further money to stimulate as and when it was required. Early reaction following the announcement saw risk appetite improve and sterling strengthen by a cent on the day to just over $1.56/£1. Call in now and speak to one of the team about how best to take advantage of economic events such as interest rate announcements.

Elsewhere, Canadian inflation was milder than expected in August as energy price rises slowed and the Canadian recovery lost steam. This gives the Bank of Canada much more reason to pause its current interest rate hiking scheme and is likely to see the Canadian dollar pull back. The currency – known as the Looney – has recently come very close to parity (1:1) against the US dollar. Poor inflation data is not going to push it beyond that barrier anytime soon.

EURO/GBP – 1.186 US$/GBP – 1.551 CHF/GBP – 1.558 CAN$/GBP – 1.596 AUS$/GBP – 1.639 ZAR/GBP – 11.052 JPY/GBP – 132.56 HKD/GBP – 12.049 NZD/GBP – 2.131 US$/EURO – 1.308 Sterling fell to a 7 week low against the euro yesterday after poor UK data highlighted a slow UK recovery. Data showed that lending to  Continue Reading…

EURO/GBP – 1.203 US$/GBP – 1.540 CHF/GBP – 1.560 CAN$/GBP – 1.620 AUS$/GBP – 1.695 NZD/GBP – 2.155 EURO/US$ – 1.280 Sterling hit a 3 week low against the euro yesterday after UK purchasing manager data came in sharply lower than was expected. The survey asks business purchasing managers whether they have bought more or  Continue Reading…

EURO/GBP – 1.216US$/GBP – 1.542CHF/GBP – 1.573CAN$/GBP – 1.634AUS$/GBP – 1.731NZD/GBP – 2.202EURO/US$ – 1.267 Sterling’s movement last week was dictated by risk sentiment as sterling suffered on increased risk aversion at the start of the week but benefitted towards the end of the week due to gains in global stock markets. UK quarterly growth  Continue Reading…

EURO/GBP – 1.219US$/GBP – 1.552CHF/GBP – 1.590CAN$/GBP – 1.643AUS$/GBP – 1.749NZD/GBP – 2.203EURO/US$ – 1.272 Sterling benefitted from improved risk sentiment as gains in stock markets gave investors the confidence to seek higher returns elsewhere. Sterling reached $1.5545/£1 against the US dollar as the FTSE 100 gained 1% through the day. Today sees the release  Continue Reading…

EURO/GBP – 1.223US$/GBP – 1.553CHF/GBP – 1.599CAN$/GBP – 1.640AUS$/GBP – 1.751NZD/GBP – 2.209EURO/US$ – 1.270 Sterling had a fairly quiet day yesterday and remains range bound against the euro and US dollar. With trading volumes still low due to the holiday season any negative surprises could hit confidence in sterling and lead to larger movements  Continue Reading…

EURO/GBP – 1.214US$/GBP – 1.544CHF/GBP – 1.587CAN$/GBP – 1.634AUS$/GBP – 1.738NZD/GBP – 2.188EURO/US$ – 1.271 Yesterday sterling fell to a one month low against the US dollar and ended four days of gains against the euro over fears of a double-dip recession. Martin Weale, a Bank of England Official stated in the Times, “The UK  Continue Reading…

EURO/GBP – 1.219US$/GBP – 1.538CHF/GBP – 1.604CAN$/GBP – 1.627AUS$/GBP – 1.736NZD/GBP – 2.189EURO/US$ – 1.261 Sterling hit a 2 month high against the euro yesterday reaching 1.2279/£1. This was short lived and this morning we have seen sterling lose ground against both the euro and the US$. Trading volumes in August are traditionally low which  Continue Reading…

EURO/GBP – 1.225US$/GBP – 1.558CHF/GBP – 1.610CAN$/GBP – 1.631AUS$/GBP – 1.743NZD/GBP – 2.202EURO/US$ – 1.270 Last week was a strong one for sterling against the euro and this trend has continued this morning as it is trading at 1.2260/£1. During this past week, the Bank of England minutes for the month of August showed that  Continue Reading…

EURO/GBP – 1.217US$/GBP – 1.552CHF/GBP – 1.604CAN$/GBP – 1.617AUS$/GBP – 1.746NZD/GBP – 2.205EURO/US$ – 1.275 Sterling recovered yesterday to jump more than a cent yesterday against the US dollar after far stronger than expected retail sales data boosted hopes that the UK economy can maintain positive momentum in the 3rd quarter. There was an expectation  Continue Reading…