January 2013 News Archive

The Pound rally has been gathering steam while risk aversion and US economic concerns weigh on the US Dollar, making it easier for the British Pound to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate to trend near its best levels in years. Since opening this week at the level of 1.3585, GBP/USD has been trending higher save for a brief dip near the...

Amid the tail-end of a chaotic week for global markets, the British Pound to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate has steadied. Investors continue to digest the events of the past few days, but the US Dollar may strengthen if upcoming data impresses. After opening this week at the level of 1.3676, GBP/USD briefly edged higher and touched on...

The Pound New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate jumped 1.2% this afternoon following the UK central bank meeting, leaving the pairing trading at around NZ$2.0187. On Thursday, the Bank of England (BoE) left interest rates on hold, stating the economy had picked up since the General Election, meaning further stimulus was not currently...

Despite some strong Australian data published today, the Australian Dollar was unable to sustain much of a recovery from this week’s tumbles and the British Pound to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate continued to trend high. Since opening this week at the level of 1.9154, GBP/AUD has been trending higher due largely to global...

The British Pound to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate has seen significant gains over the past week, but the pair has finally cooled after yesterday’s volatile movement thanks to some strong Australian data. As Australia’s latest job market report was strong, it helped the Australian Dollar to rebound from its recent...

Due to a stream of disappointing Eurozone ecostats published over the past week, the British Pound to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate surged towards the end of Wednesday’s European session on the latest Brexit speculations. Despite mixed demand for Euro rivals, a weaker economic outlook has left the shared currency without strong support....

The EUR/USD exchange rate rallied hard during the European session of Tuesday as markets reacted to the Eurozone’s latest GDP figures. <h2>Euro (EUR) Bolstered by Upbeat GDP Figures</h2> The Euro made strong gains in early trading this morning as the Eurozone publishes its preliminary GDP reading for the fourth...

The Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate remained within a narrow band on Thursday morning, limited by fresh concerns for the US Dollar (USD) but supported by growing optimism for a post-Brexit UK-US trade deal. The Pound’s performance was buoyed by new remarks from US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the World Economic...

Forecast-Beating Eurozone Confidence Growth Increases Euro to US Dollar Demand The Euro has risen by 0.4% against the US Dollar today, following the release of data that shows growing economic confidence across the Eurozone. Initial ZEW economic sentiment figures have shown higher-than-forecast confidence index readings for Germany and...

Pound to New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate Rises despite Slowing UK Inflation The Pound has made a minimal rise against the New Zealand Dollar today, despite the handicap news of slowing UK inflation rates. Basic annual inflation fell to 3% in December, while the core reading printed lower at 2.5%. While the base reading showed a...

Despite recent strong US inflation data, the US Dollar to Japanese Yen exchange rate has fallen since last week. Investors have been digesting the latest Bank of Japan (BoJ) news, as the bank trimmed back on its purchases of long-term Japanese government bonds. After opening last week at the level of 113.03, USD/JPY tumbled by over two Yen...

Euro to New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate (EUR/NZD) Firms after ECB Minutes The Euro has risen by 0.8% against the New Zealand Dollar today, in addition to a 0.9% advance against the Australian Dollar. The Euro’s present strength comes from a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting on Thursday, in which the bank said that; ‘The...

Pound Sterling (GBP) The Pound has failed to advance against the Euro or US Dollar on Wednesday’s trading session, due to persistent concerns about Brexit and Theresa May’s ability to govern. Mrs May has come under fire for failing to implement significant change during a recent cabinet reshuffle, which has led some to question how...

Euro to US Dollar Exchange Rate Drops on Growing Concerns over German Coalition The Euro has fallen by -0.5% against the US Dollar today, as German coalition talks drag on. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU union took the most votes in the late 2017 federal election, although this was not enough to secure an outright...

Pound to Peso Exchange Rate Worsened by UK Brexit Talks, Fears of Scottish Devolution The Pound has been soft against the Mexican Peso during Monday’s trading, having slumped by -1.5% in the pairing at a time of low confidence in the UK economy. As well as a lack of data leaving investors to focus on negative political developments,...

The Pound to Canadian Dollar has fluctuated relatively close to the week’s opening levels this week as the Canadian Dollar shifts between bullish and bearish on widespread oil price uncertainty. GBP/CAD began this week trending at around 1.6487 and has since hit a high of 1.6616 and a low of 1.6424 without sustaining any of these...

Strong Pound Gains Follow PM’s Industrial Announcement, despite Trident Controversy The Pound has managed to triumph against the US Dollar on the first day under President Trump, partly because of this news but also because of some optimism-inspiring UK announcements. In the latter case, the Pound has been boosted by 0.9% against the...

The Pound has surged this week after recovering from sharp drops on Monday. Increased Brexit confidence left Sterling stronger and it has been able to capitalise on limo demand for ‘safe haven’ currencies like the Japanese Yen. GBP/JPY trended near a weekly high of 141.46 at the time of writing. Pound (GBP) Benefits from UK...

Day of Defeat for Pound Franc Exchange Rate as Investors Pre-Empt Hard Brexit In an unwanted repeat performance from last week’s starting weakness for the Pound, Sterling has once again traded extremely poorly on the first day of the week. This time around, the major loss in GBP demand has come from investors and economists...

Poor Start to Week’s GBP USD Trading after Unclear May Comments Trigger Investor Rout After the UK was graced with rising PMI figures last week, the current one has started off on a comparatively flatter note by comparison. In addition to the Pound crashing initially because of alarming interpretations of Theresa May’s comments,...

The US Dollar to Japanese Yen (USD JPY) exchange rate rallied this morning due to ongoing concerns over Japan’s anaemic inflation rate. US Dollar Japanese Yen (USD JPY) Bolstered By Inflation Worries After a steady decline in the first half of the week, the USD JPY exchange rate rallied earlier this morning as investors remained...

On Friday the Pound to Mexican Peso exchange rate jumped from a low of 22.2124 to a high of 22.4072 in response to Mexico’s Central Bank interest rate decision. The USD/MXN currency pair, meanwhile, also advanced from 14.782 to 14.8913 ahead of the publication of US fourth quarter growth data. Although many other central banks (including...

After registering its largest advance for two weeks, the Ruble softened as the week progressed. The Russian currency came under pressure as the European Union pressed for further sanctions to be placed on Russia over the renewed conflict in the east of Ukraine. Comments from Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, regarding the likelihood of...

On Tuesday the Japanese Yen advanced on the majority of its currency rivals after Japan’s economy minister asserted that neither the Bank of Japan (BOJ) nor the government has set a target date for achieving 2% domestic inflation. According to Tokyo-based industry expert Yuji Saito; ‘The government seems to have relaxed its attitude...

On Monday the Pound gained on the US Dollar thanks to unexpectedly bullish interest rate remarks from a Bank of England (BoE) official. Last week the GBP/USD pairing fell to an 18-month low as the minutes from the latest BoE meeting showed that policymakers were united in voting for interest rates to hold at record lows in the face of...

The Pound fell against the Indian Rupee on Friday after a disappointing week for Sterling. The British currency dropped against other majors this week when it emerged that the Bank of England had no policymakers willing to vote in favour of interest rate hikes at the last meeting in early January. The result saw many investors price in rate...

The Pound posted widespread declines on Wednesday in reaction to the release of minutes from the most recent Bank of England policy meeting. The minutes outlined a change of heart among policymakers on the subject of interest rates. Monetary Policy Committee members Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty had previously voted in favour of immediate...

Last week’s currency market turmoil has bled into trading over the last few days and the actions of several major central banks are being closely scrutinised. While economists and investors are waiting with baited breath for the European Central Bank’s potentially explosive policy announcement (due to take place tomorrow) the Yen was...

After surging by over 30% against the majority of its currency counterparts last week following the Swiss National Bank’s decision to remove its peg with the Euro and cut its interest rate further into negative territory, the Franc pared gains on Monday. With markets starting to regain some equilibrium following last week’s veritable...

The New Zealand Dollar strengthened during the Australasian session, advancing to an over six-week high against the US Dollar and achieving record levels against the Euro in the wake of yesterday’s Swiss National Bank announcement. To the total surprise of economists, investors and the currency market, the SNB opted to end its over 3 year...

The US Dollar has been enjoying a bullish relationship with the majority of its currency counterparts in recent weeks due to speculation that the Federal Reserve intends to increase borrowing costs in the first half, if not the first quarter, of the year. However, the US Dollar to Japanese Yen currency pair tumbled to a one-month low...

The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate was languishing in the region of a nine-year low amid European Central Bank stimulus speculation and positive economic reports for the US. The day’s disappointing German Wholesale Price Index did little to support the common currency. Given that the Eurozone slid into deflation at the close of 2014, it is...

The US Dollar to Indian Rupee currency pair registered declines on Monday as investors bet that last week’s disappointing US employment figures will prevent the Federal Reserve from increasing interest rates in the first quarter of 2015. Friday’s US Non-Farm Payrolls report showed that the US economy added more positions than forecast,...

The currency market experienced notable volatility on Friday in response to a number of factors. The Pound ended the European session trending in a stronger position against the Euro, and with the GBP/USD pairing having moved away from its recent 17-month low. Sterling was supported by UK Manufacturing Production and Trade Balance figures,...

The Euro was trading in the region of a nine-year low against the US Dollar on Wednesday having fallen by almost 0.5% over the course of the European session in response to less-than-impressive economic reports from the currency bloc. The EUR/USD pairing hit a low of 1.1799 after the Eurozone’s Consumer Price Index showed that annual...

The Pound fell against almost all of its currency counterparts as the week progressed, posting a notable decline against the Euro (GBP/EUR) and US Dollar (GBP/USD). Demand for the British asset had been undermined at the close of last week as the UK published a disappointing Manufacturing PMI for December. The Markit report showed that the...

The US Dollar was trending in a stronger position across the board on Monday as investors bet that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates in the first half (if not the first quarter) of this year in response to encouraging US growth and improvement in the nation’s employment sector. However, the USD/BRL pairing was able to advance...

Ahead of the latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve, the markets were choppy as both worldwide central banks and market makers positioned themselves ahead of the announcement. On a ‘no data’ day in the UK, a speech by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney caught the market’s attention. Carney was speaking in Scotland...

The pound remained steady yesterday as the latest UK gross domestic product (GDP) came in exactly in line with expectations with a quarter-on-quarter expansion of 0.7% in the last quarter of 2013 and 2.8% year-on-year according to the initial estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS have previously reported that the UK...

Ahead of the publication of the latest GDP data for the UK economy later this morning, the pound made steady if unspectacular progress at the start of the trading week. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) reported that the level of UK mortgages rose less than expected in December with 46,521 loans for house purchase worth a total of...

The pound eased against the euro yesterday after the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) Distributive Trades Sales Index dropped sharply from a reading of 34 in December 2013 to just 14 in January. The slowdown in sales seems to have been partly due to the impact of the “unseasonably mild weather” on fashion retailers who saw a...

The pound soared yesterday after another strong raft of UK economic data was published. It is now trading at a 6 year high against the South African Rand; a 4 year high against the Australian and Canadian dollars and a 1 year high against the Euro. The latest ‘shot in the arm’ for the pound came with the announcement from the Office...

Ahead of the release of a raft of UK economic data, the pound kept hold of recent gains to continue to trade close to multi month highs against the euro and US dollar and multi-year highs against the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars and South African Rand. Analysts expect the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to report...

The pound received a further boost yesterday on an otherwise quiet data day after property website Rightmove reported that UK house prices enjoyed their strongest ever start to a new year and rose year-on year at the fastest rate since November 2007 at the start of 2014. Rightmove reported that UK average asking prices rose by 1% or...

The pound reached its highest level against the Australian dollar since September 2009 after the publication of the worst job market report down under for 8 months increased speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut interest rates from its already record low to bolster the faltering Australian economy. The pound was...

Better than expected economic and company result data from the US have driven most worldwide stock markets to record highs with the S&P 500 in New York and the DAX in Frankfurt hitting all time record highs and the FTSE100 index hitting an 8 month high. This despite the latest mortgage lending data from the Council for Mortgage...

The pound initially fell but regained its morning losses in the afternoon after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that UK consumer prices gained just 0.4% in December to reach a level of 2% year-on-year, shy of the 2.1% annual rate envisaged by analysts. Meanwhile, the euro received some support yesterday after a surge in...

The pound fell for the second consecutive trading day yesterday on the back of some mixed UK economic data. On the plus side, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), a well respected ‘think-tank’ reported that the UK economy expanded at a 0.7% rate in the three months ending in December after they recorded...

The pound reached yesterday afternoon its highest level against the euro since January 2013 ahead of the Bank of England policy announcement due at lunchtime today. Investment bank Goldman Sachs is predicting that the Bank of England will not increase UK interest rates in 2014 regardless of the unemployment rate in the UK. Bank of England...

Before the latest policy announcements from both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank due out tomorrow, the pound regained most of Monday’s losses after the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) announced that the UK economy is growing as a solid pace with 2014 off to a 'fantastic start'. In its latest quarterly survey of...

The pound opened the first full trading week of the year on the back foot following the publication of disappointing UK services sector data which came in at a 6 month low and below analysts’ expectations. Commenting on the data, Chris Williamson, Chief Economist at Markit, pointed out that "If borne out by the official data,...

Although the Pound brushed a two-year high against the US Dollar earlier in the week and continues to receive underlying support from the impressive economic data emerging from the UK, the British asset slipped against the ‘Greenback’ before the weekend. Sterling faltered against the US asset yesterday as the pace of expansion in the...

With markets returning to normal after the Christmas and New Year breaks the Pound was able to consolidate gains against the Euro during European trading. The British currency was supported by a report showing that the UK manufacturing sector expanded for a ninth month in December. Although the pace of expansion slowed slightly, the...

The euro continues to trade at its highest level against the dollar since November 2011 as the dollar fell yesterday on unexpectedly poor US GDP data and the Federal Reserve voted to keep its low interest-rate policy unchanged and agreed to maintain its $85 billion a month bond-buying programme to help stimulate economic growth in the US in...

A combination of risk appetite, a calmer and more positive outlook for the euro zone and very poor economic data out of the UK have combined to leave the pound struggling at the beginning of 2013 and it is now trading at multi month lows across the board. Yesterday it hit a thirteen month low against the euro; a five month low against both...

The euro zone continues its rip-roaring start to the year with the publication of better than expected preliminary purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data which shows the composite (manufacturing and services) output in the region rising for the third month in a row. According to Markit, trends were far more varied by country, notably...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published its ‘World economic outlook’ yesterday, downgrading the growth forecasts for the global economy and advised that any economic upturn is expected to be more gradual than previously thought. The report states that in its opinion, while financial conditions improved in the fourth quarter of...

The pound continues to weaken against the majority of the 16 most actively traded currencies in the market after the publication of worse than expected UK public sector borrowing figures which further increases speculation that the UK could lose its coveted AAA credit rating. The Office for National Statistics reported government borrowing...

With trading volumes sharply down with New York closed due to Martin Luther King day, the pound slipped to a new 10 month low against the euro after further forecast at the weekend that the UK faces a ‘triple-dip’ recession. In the only UK data out yesterday, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) reported that UK house...

World stock markets are trading just shy of a four year high this morning as the overnight data from China shows that Chinese economic growth has accelerated for the first time in two years in the last quarter of 2012 as the government’s stimulus measures make an impact. The data showed that Chinese gross domestic product expanded at an...

The full force of the economic slowdown continues at pace. Before Christmas, electrical retailer Comets went into administration. Last week it was the turn of photographic equipment retailer Jessops and so far this week we have seen HMV and Blockbuster all go into administration. Who could be next? Tomorrow’s retail sales data covering...

The pound enjoyed a steadier day in the markets yesterday as UK inflation data came in, in line with expectations. The Office for National Statistics reported UK inflation was unchanged in December as rising gas and electricity bills were offset by the easing of air fares and a drop in petrol prices. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI)...

The euro rises to a nine month high against the pound The pound fell to a new nine month low against the euro yesterday as Friday’s data showing that the UK economy shrank by 0.3% in December, paving the way for the possibility that the UK will suffer its first triple-dip recession since records began. After the collapse of Jessops...

The rise in risk appetite continues unabated improving the outlook for the high yielding risk based currencies like the Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and South African Rand and diminishing demand for the safe haven currencies like the US dollar and Japanese Yen. The dollar has now dropped to its lowest level against the euro since...

Data out overnight from China showing that Chinese exports and imports rebounded strongly in December not only point to solid economic growth both in China and abroad for the year ahead but gave a big boost to overnight Far East Asian markets increasing risk appetite which favours the high yielding currencies like the Australian and New...

The euro continues on its upward trajectory despite some poor data out of the euro zone yesterday as the pressure on the pound mounts following some poor economic data last week and an ever growing expectation that the UK faces the loss of its prized AAA credit rating when this comes up for review later on this month. The British...

The pound remains under considerable pressure against the 16 most actively traded currencies in the market as an endless stream of poor UK economic data continues to be published ahead of the Bank of England’s next Monetary Policy Committee meeting due this Thursday and the review of the UK’s AAA credit rating by Moodys. This morning,...