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Pound Sterling exchange rate continues to rise

Published: 1 May at 10 AM Tags: Pound Sterling, Euro Exchange Rate, Euro Crisis, UK, Economy, Inflation, Spain,

The pound starts a new month at multi-week highs against a number of currencies following the release of the GDP data last week that confirmed the UK has avoided a so-called ‘triple-dip’ recession.

The pound has also found support as over the last few days, the quality of economic data from the US, China and the euro zone has deteriorated, negatively affecting a number of currencies.

Tonight sees the latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve. The latest batch of US economic data out yesterday provided a mixed snapshot of the world's largest economy and reduced expectations that the Fed will risk cutting short its quantitative Easing programme.

On the negative side, April's Chicago Business Barometer fell 3.4 points to 49.0, a three-an-a-half-year low. This follows the publication of weaker-than-expected US first-quarter economic growth last week. On a brighter note, a report from the Institute for Supply Management provided a more positive spin on the outlook for the US economy stating that manufacturing growth is expected to continue throughout 2013.

In the euro zone, the euro continues to lose ground after the publication of data showing that euro zone unemployment increased in March to a record 12.1% from the previous record, set in February at 12%.

Data also showed that inflation in the euro zone eased in April. This has led to an increase in speculation that the European Central Bank may cut interest rates at its meeting tomorrow to stimulate economic growth in the area.

as if to emphasise the dire state of the euro zone economy, data out from Spain yesterday showed that the country moved into an even deeper recession in the first quarter of 2013 according to data published by the INE, the Spanish national statistics institute.

Spain, the fourth largest economy in the euro zone, now has a record high level of unemployment of 27.16% in the latest reading and the economy has contracted by 0.5% in the first three months of 2013 on top of the 0.8% drop in the last three months of 2012. This is the seventh straight quarter showing a contraction.

Overnight, data out from China showed that its manufacturing sector continues to slow down. Its official purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed a further drop in the manufacturing PMI from the 50.9 mark registered in March to 50.6 in April. Whilst a figure above 50 indicates expansion of the economy, it provides further evidence of weakness in the world's second-largest economy.
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