Published: 15 Nov at 9 AM Tags: Pound Sterling, Euro Exchange Rate, Dollar Exchange Rate, Forex, Swiss Franc Exchange Rate, Euro Crisis, UK, Economy, France,
The pound continues to benefit from the most positive outlook on the UK economy made by the Bank of England in 6 years trading towards the top end of its trading range virtually across the board.
The pound received further support yesterday after a report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders stated that home repossessions have fallen to their lowest level since records began in 2008. However, the report was quick to point out that consumers are taking advantage of cheap mortgage conditions and some could find themselves in serious trouble when interest rates begin to rise.
Not such good news from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which reported yesterday that UK month-on-month retail sales fell by 0.7% in October compared to the 0.6% growth reported in September.
Against the euro, the pound continues to benefit from poor economic data coming out of the euro zone as France registered an unexpected third quarter contraction and German growth slowed sharply between the second and third quarter of this year due to weaker external demand.
In the US, in the first half of her testimony before the Senate's banking committee, prospective Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen seemed to strike emphasise the need to continue to support the recovery sufficiently, while admitting the need to make sure that the problem of “too-big-to-fail” financial institutions was addressed.
In her testimony, Yellen said “The Federal Reserve is using its monetary policy tools to promote a more robust recovery. A strong recovery will ultimately enable the Fed to reduce its monetary accommodation and reliance on unconventional policy tools such as asset purchases. I believe that supporting the recovery today is the surest path to returning to a more normal approach to monetary policy".
Yellen also stated that she does not see signs of “bubbles” which might harm the financial system although she would not rule out using monetary policy to combat them and also indicated that there are risks to financial stability which are being watched and taken seriously.
Her comments sparked a rally on improved risk sentiment as analysts speculated that her stewardship of the Fed would likely see a continuation of the quantatitive easing program where financial assets up to $85 billion a montha re bought to provide liquidity into the economy to aid the economic recovery. The dollar fell on the news.
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