GBP/USD    1.5479

Sterling had a strong start to the day, rising to a ten-week high against the US dollar as an industry report showed UK house prices to have increased for the first time to levels last seen before the recession. Come the afternoon and overnight sterling lost ground. Sterling still remains supported from last Thursday’s growth figures, a dampened expectation that the Bank of England will boost stimulus measures and a renewed optimism for small businesses to take advantage of the revamped Funding for Lending scheme. However the benefits have been short lived and sterling has lost short term momentum. Data released today includes the net lending levels to individuals and mortgage approvals figures. Call in now to see how sterling reacts and for a live price from the market.

The US dollar struggled yesterday as the markets anticipate that the Federal Bank will remain on its current monetary stimulus program come Thursdays central bank meeting. Data released yesterday showed a better than expected reading for the number of homes pending sale; however, Februarys figure was revised downwards painting a mixed picture in the housing market. Other reports yesterday showed personal spending slowing last month – in line with a recent slew of weak data coming from the US, as incomes increased less than forecast and inflation cooled to the lowest level in more than three years. Today sees the release of consumer confidence data which is expected to provide some better news at last. The US dollar remains weak after the disappointing first quarter GDP figures; but with a busy week ahead, the potential for volatility remains high. Call in for the latest developments and prices.

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GBP/USD – 1.5524 Sterling continued its upward trend on Friday strengthening for a fifth day against both the euro and the US dollar following Thursday’s news the UK had avoided a triple-dip recession and grown slightly beyond expectations. The main data released this week will be the Purchase Manager’s indices (PMI) for the manufacturing, construction  Continue Reading…

This week                 (Last week) GBP/USD – 1.5450      (GBP/USD – 1.5310) The main news this week came yesterday as GDP data revealed that the UK had avoided falling into an unprecedented triple-dip-recession after preliminary growth figures for the first quarter exceeded market expectations. After a quiet week for data, the GDP data revealed modest growth of  Continue Reading…

GBP/USD – 1.5312 The announcement that the government’s Funding for Lending scheme (the scheme designed to give the economy a boost by encouraging banks to lend to businesses and households) is to be extended lent support to sterling yesterday, trading in a half-a-cent range as everyone looked ahead to today’s preliminary first quarter growth figures.  Continue Reading…

GBP/USD – 1.5241 Despite disappointing public sector borrowing figures in the morning, sterling enjoyed a steady day, making gains against most major peers which included strengthening above the 1.17 level against the euro. While today looks set to be quiet in terms of data released, we could nonetheless see volatility as we await tomorrow’s preliminary  Continue Reading…