I hope all our readers of today’s currency note have had a good Christmas break and looking forward to a positive 2014. Here in the UK we have two days of holiday but in the US they only have Christmas Day and therefore yesterday we did have the release of some US data: the US jobless claims figures. These came in better than expected which, on a low volume trading day, boosted stock markets, increased bond yields as investors become more confident on the sustainability of the US economic recovery and weakened the US dollar. It just highlights how sometimes it is better to travel than arrive. Expectations were that the start of tapering would see a strengthening US dollar whereas the reverse seems to be happening as business confidence increases and the US safe haven status becomes less important. Today is a very quiet day on the data front although we do have some price inflation data out of France which could be more influential than normal given the dearth of activity. But here at Smart we are a hive of activity, available to help today, Monday and Tuesday, so please call your trader to get the latest exchange rates.

Last week            This week (GBP/USD – 1.5229)   GBP/USD – 1.5376 After maintaining an upward trajectory for most of last week, sterling experienced more mixed fortunes this week. The pound performed well from Monday as Prime Minister David Cameron announced that improving economic conditions may allow the Coalition Government to implement tax cuts in the near  Continue Reading…

GBP/USD – 1.5348 Sterling showed signs of weakness yesterday morning but largely recovered during the afternoon, until it fell sharply against the US dollar in the evening. The weakness experienced earlier in the day was seen in response to speculation by Goldman Sachs that there is a 50% chance that the Monetary Policy Committee will  Continue Reading…

GBP/USD – 1.5383 Sterling traded within a narrower range yesterday as we saw a decrease in volatility across the currency markets. The pound has made reasonably consistent gains since last week’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting minutes were released. A report from the British Bankers’ Association released yesterday morning showed that UK mortgage approvals increased during  Continue Reading…

GBP/USD – 1.5364 Even before the announcement of a new Royal baby and the third in line to the throne, Sterling continued its upward trajectory yesterday as hopes for a sustainable economic recovery in the UK increased ahead of Thursday’s second quarter Growth figures. The pound made gains against the majority of its major trading  Continue Reading…