Weekly US$ rates and comments – week commencing 23rd February 2009
All in all last week was a quiet week for sterling with few significant events or data releases to move the markets. Having kept within a steady range against the US$ and edging up by a couple of cents on the euro over the week, a period of stability is perhaps a positive given how volatile exchange rates have been over the last eighteen months. The positives for the UK economy were better-than-expected house price figures and retail sales. However, the Bank of England revealed in the minutes from their last meeting on interest rates a unanimous vote in favour of quantitive easing to stimulate the economy. This promise of printing more money to increase supply from the lending banks did not cause any immediate harm to sterling’s value but may not be looked upon favourably should this policy be enacted in the difficult months ahead.
An equally quiet week for the US$, currently at 1.456/£1, started on Tuesday with the markets closed for Presidents day last Monday. For the first time in fifty years US inflation reached 0% in January as ‘price increases’ on fuel and many other US staples disappeared given the US$’s consistent strength on the global markets. The US$ maintains a strong level against all major currencies thanks to the safe-haven status it has shared with the Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc in these unpredictable times. However, there is a lot economic data out this week so we wait to see what this brings.
Topic: US Dollar Currency Exchange
Weekly US$ rates and comments – week commencing 16th February 2009
Sterling started last week positively largely thanks to news that Barclays Bank had posted much better than expected annual profits. However, news regarding the re-structuring of Russian corporate debt last Tuesday drove market sentiment against sterling and back into favour the safe-haven assets such as the US$ and the Japanese Yen. This in turn lead Continue Reading…
Topic: US Dollar Currency Exchange
Weekly US$ rates and comments – week commencing 9th February 2009
Sterling suffered a shaky start to last Monday, falling from the gains made at the end of the previous week. On Tuesday sterling was steady and on Wednesday began to climb across the board in anticipation of the Bank of England’s (BOE) meeting for interest rates the next day. The much-expected cut of 0.5% to Continue Reading…
Topic: US Dollar Currency Exchange
Weekly US$ rates and comments – week commencing 2nd February 2009
Sterling had a good week. It started positively when the Chairman and CEO of Barclays Bank wrote an open letter to the market saying they were doing better than the market thought. This brought a bit of stability to the UK financial market which is a key part of the UK economy. Then the International Continue Reading…
Topic: US Dollar Currency Exchange
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