Money Transfer.co.uk

Compare money transfers, currency exchange and international transfer

Thu 21 Nov 2024 11:52GMT

Compare Money Transfers. Safe. Fast. Free.

A money transfer through a foreign exchange broker is the smart move. With excellent exchange rates and fee-free transfers, you could save time and money.

I need to send money...

Pound rises ahead of the European elections

Published: 22 May at 8 AM Tags: Pound Sterling, Euro Exchange Rate, Swiss Franc Exchange Rate, Euro Crisis, UK,

Ahead of the European elections, the pound benefited from a further batch of data which underlined the growing economic recovery in the UK.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the volume of UK retail sales grew by 1.3% month-on-month in April and by 6.9% in the last year.

The ONS report suggests that a better than expected Easter and better weather conditions helped to boost sales.

Meanwhile the latest minutes from the last Bank of England policy meeting showed that some of the members believe "the monetary policy decision was becoming more balanced" and do not agree with the consensus view that the margin of spare capacity remained in the region of 1% - 1.5% of GDP. This was seen by market analysts as a signal that it may not be long before one or two members start to vote to raise interest rates.

Finally from the UK, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported that mortgage lending in the UK rose by more than a third between April 2013 and April 2014 with gross mortgage advances increasing by 36% during the month to £16.6 billion against £12.2 billion in April 2013. This represents an 8% increase from March’s figure and represents the highest total for the month of April since the £25.7 billion reached in 2008.

Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight commented that "The CML data reinforce belief that the BoE may very well act as soon as June to take measures to try to rein in housing market activity and dilute the risk of a damaging bubble developing. While there are so far limited signs of a housing market bubble developing outside of London, house prices are generally firming across regions and it is a very real risk."

Elsewhere, credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service revised its outlook downwards for China's property industry from ‘stable’ to 'negative' reflecting the expectation of a significant slowdown in residential property sales growth, high inventory levels and weakening liquidity over the coming 12 months.

Moody's Assistant Vice President Franco Leung commented that “We expect modest 0% to 5% year-over-year growth on a 12-month trailing basis over the next 12 months”. Leung also noted that this growth is “materially lower” than the 26.6% jump registered in 2013.

Advertisement