June 2014 News Archive

The Pound Euro exchange rate fell by -0.5% today after the Bank of England (BoE) released a surprisingly dovish statement about UK growth and inflation, which it said would likely be ‘temporary’. The pairing is currently fluctuating around €1.16. Sterling struggled today after the BoE predicted that inflation is likely to rise above...

The Pound Euro exchange rate rose today despite the latest Eurozone inflation gauge for May confirming forecasts and rising by 0.2%. The pairing is currently trading around €1.16. Analysts at Reuters commented: ‘A sharp spike in energy prices and more expensive services boosted euro zone consumer inflation in May as expected …...

The Pound Euro exchange rate held steady today ahead of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) interest rate decision, which is expected to remain at 0%. The pairing is currently trading around €1.15. The Euro failed to gain on the Pound (GBP) with Eurozone markets speculating over whether the ECB will dial back its Pandemic Emergency...

The Pound Japanese Yen exchange rate rose by 0.2% today as UK service sector growth hit a 24-year high in April. The pairing is currently fluctuating around ¥ 155.67. Sterling benefited from the release of the latest UK services PMI for May today, which beat forecasts and rose from 61.0 to 62.9 last month. Tim Moore, economics director...

The Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) held steady today as ‘Aussie’ traders have been buoyed with a risk-on attitude ahead of tomorrow’s G20 summit in Japan. This came following comments from the US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, who said yesterday: ‘We were about 90% of the way there [with a deal] and I think there’s...

The Euro US Dollar exchange rate edged higher today and is currently trading around $1.1392 on interbank market. The Euro rose despite the publication of the German IFO business expectations figures for June, which eased below the forecast 94.5 decrease to 94.2 – a near five-year low. This has left many single currency traders...

The Australian Dollar outlook has become continuously more bearish in recent weeks, but the Australian Dollar to US Dollar (AUD/USD) exchange rate has seen a strong rebound in demand this week as investors digest the latest major Central Bank developments. After opening this week at the level of 0.6873, AUD/USD briefly slumped and touched...

GBP/USD Exchange Rate Near Best Weekly Exchange Rate after BoE Vote After a nearly week-long wait, Pound Sterling (GBP) traders have finally been rewarded today with economic news that has caused a significant advance against the US Dollar (USD). The earlier Bank of England (BoE) interest rate decision brought no change to interest...

Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) Exchange Rate Rises on Strong UK Industrial Data The Pound (GBP) has made a minor advance against the US Dollar (USD) today, thanks to better-than-expected UK industrial orders figures. Confederation of British Industry (CBI) stats for June have shown growth during the month, from a prior -3 point...

Mixed risk-sentiment and UK economic data have caused fluctuations in the British Pound to Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) exchange rate in recent weeks, but as trade jitters worsen and Britain’s economic outlook becomes murkier there could be losses ahead. Last week saw GBP/JPY fluctuating broadly. The pair opened the week at 146.80 and closed...

Investors briefly perceived Britain’s latest job market results as optimistic, but the British Pound to Euro exchange rate weakened towards the end of Tuesday’s session as investors firmed in the Euro ahead of Thursday’s anticipated European Central Bank (ECB) policy decision. The bank is expected to address the withdrawal of its...

Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) Exchange Rate Drops after Fresh Brexit Upset The Pound (GBP) has fallen back against the US Dollar (USD) today, struggling in the pairing because of Brexit-related uncertainty. The current issue is the customs union ‘backstop’, an emergency measure that would be activated if the UK fails to...

The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate saw a surge in demand on Tuesday, as investors bought the shared currency up in reaction to the latest comments from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi. EUR/USD gains were limited by impressive US consumer confidence however. EUR/USD began this week trading at the level of 1.1190. After...

The poor run of US data continued at the start of the week, with May’s durable goods orders contracting far more sharply on the month than forecast. This offered a fresh boost to the Euro US Dollar exchange rate, throwing the likely timing of the next Federal Reserve interest rate hike further into doubt. Orders contracted -1.1% on...

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has caused the latest New Zealand Dollar appreciation. After news emerged that the RBNZ had left interest rates at 1.75%, the New Zealand Dollar spiked up against the Pound. According to Kiwibank Chief Economist Zoe Wallis, this was because; ‘The market was expecting stronger language on the...

The Pound managed to rise to a high of 1.2810 on Monday’s trading session, but soon fell to a lower rate of 1.2751. This mixed movement came during the first official Brexit talks between UK and EU negotiators. The talks began almost on the anniversary of June 23rd's EU Referendum, where the UK first voted to separate from the EU. The...

The Pound to Euro exchange rate was edging higher earlier in the week as markets expected a big majority for the Conservative party in the UK general election. However, the election ended in a hung parliament and the Pound plummeted. GBP/EUR quickly shed over a cent on Thursday evening and Friday morning as the results came in and the pair...

The GBP CAD exchange rate mounted a recovery by mid-morning today as recent polls suggested that the Conservatives still enjoyed a healthy lead over Labour. The Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP CAD) exchange rate initially tumbled this morning following the recent terror attack in London, with investors shying away from Sterling as they feared...

Enabled by the Pound’s recent strength, the Pound Danish Krone exchange rate has skyrocketed since the start of Monday’s session. A quelling of the rampant fears and uncertainty surrounding today’s EU referendum due to a perceived shift towards a ‘Remain’ result has afforded Stirling massive gains against the Danish Krone...

The US Dollar to Japanese Yen (USD/JPY) exchange rate attempted recovery from last week’s bearish drops on Monday after investors flocked from the ‘safe-haven’ Yen to the British Pound, following a perceived shift towards ‘Remain’. US Dollar (USD) Favour Remains Tepid after Last Week’s Data While the US Dollar recovered...

The Pound to Canadian Dollar exchange rate rallied this morning. Rising 0.30% against the ‘Loonie’, Sterling gained the upper-hand as global oil prices slipped back below $50, placing extensive downward pressure on the Canadian Dollar. Yesterday had been a surreal day for the Pound between a brutal leaked emergency budget from...

The Pound Sterling to South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) exchange rate attempted to recover on Tuesday due to a so-called ‘fat finger trade’. However, Rand investors remained focused on the risky Rand ahead of Wednesday’s key South African session. GBP/ZAR dipped to a fresh one-month-low of 21.4985 on Monday as investors reacted to the...

Amidst a slew of positive market data flooding out of the UK, it seems EU referendum-related opinion polls still hold most of the influence over the Pound to Canadian Dollar exchange rate (GBP/CAD). The Pound to Canadian Dollar exchange rate currently sits at 1.857, having depreciated by over 1% throughout the day. Public Opinion Polls...

The Pound Sterling declined versus the majority of its most traded currency rivals on Monday after Bank of England (BoE) Chief Economist Andy Haldane made dovish comments. Haldane suggested that a benchmark rate increase was just as likely as a cut, and the policymakers should avoid an early hike with major economies still scarred from the...

The Pound softened on Monday in response to a combination of mostly negative domestic data results and trader profit-buying. The recent Sterling surge, thanks to a succession of positive ecostats and increased bets as to a sooner-than-expected Bank of England (BoE) benchmark interest rate hike, opened up a number of attractive selling...

Despite the fact that the past week has seen several unscheduled meetings to attempt to secure a deal for Greece to unlock bailout funds, there has been seemingly no progress made. The division between Greece and its creditors is widening with officials butting heads over reforms that compromise Syriza’s electoral red lines. Greece only has...

As traders await news from the European Union finance ministers’ summit today, the Pound is generally trending statically versus most of its peers. A slight depreciation can be linked to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Reported Sales which came in at 29 in June; missing the median market forecast 35. Although retail sales eased,...

The Pound Sterling to Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) exchange rate is currently trending in the region of 195.2100. The Pound Sterling appreciated versus many of its peers on Wednesday morning following hawkish comments from Bank of England (BoE) official Martin Weal in an interview with Financial Times. Weale suggested that the recent...

After having advanced considerably last week in response to sanguine domestic data, the Pound is holding relatively steady on Monday. The spate of positive data results, with particular reference to accelerated wage growth, caused futures traders to bring forward bets as to the timing of a Bank of England (BoE) benchmark interest rate hike....

The Pound Sterling to Indian Rupee (GBP/INR) exchange rate softened by around -0.31% on Friday afternoon. After British data produced reasonably positive results on Friday, the Pound strengthened versus many of its peers. A recent spate of better-than-expected ecostats has prompted rate hawks to speculate that the Bank of England (BoE)...

The Swiss Franc strengthened versus many of its rivals on Thursday after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) kept the record-low cash rate of -0.75% on hold. The appreciation has been somewhat sluggish, however, after the central bank warned that it’s ready to take further action to reduce the impact of Franc overvaluation. Since the SNB...

The Pound Sterling to New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate rallied by around 1.32% on Wednesday. After British economic data produced positive results, the Pound rallied against its major peers. April’s Average Weekly Earnings came in at 2.7% on the year; bettering the median market forecast 2.1% increase. In addition, April’s...

The Brazilian Real softened versus most of its major peers on Tuesday after retail sales in April declined. On an annual basis, Retail Sales dropped by -3.5%; a much larger declination than the -1.6% markets anticipated. On the month, Retail Sales dropped by -0.4% despite predictions of a 0.7% increase. The drop in sales has been linked to...

The shared currency is holding relatively steady versus most of its major peers on Monday despite continued anxieties regarding a Greek exit from the Eurozone. A fractional uptrend can be attributed to positive results from Eurozone Trade Balance data, which saw the trade surplus advance beyond expectations. After yet another week passed...

The Pound strengthened versus many of its rivals despite a slowdown in April’s Construction Output. On the month, Construction Output declined by -0.8%; failing to meet with the median market forecast 0.1% increase. However, on a yearly basis April’s Construction Output bettered the market consensus of a 0.5% increase, with the actual...

Wednesday saw the US Dollar dive versus its major rivals after the recent bullish run opened up some attractive selling positions. The spate of trader profit-locking saw the US Dollar depreciate even after domestic data produced better-than-expected results. May’s Monthly Budget Statement came in at -$82.4 billion, a steeper rise than the...

Although Egyptian Urban Consumer Prices and Core Consumer Prices spiked on Wednesday, the Egyptian Pound softened versus many of its major peers. The depreciation can be linked to geopolitical upheaval after news that a suicide bomber attempted to attack the tourist destination of Luxor. Mohamed Badr, governor of Luxor, said the bomb went off...

The Pound Sterling to Swiss Franc (GBP/CHF) exchange rate was trending within a limited range on Tuesday afternoon. In the early stages of Tuesday’s European session, the Pound slumped in response to a report of job cuts from Europe’s largest bank, HSBC. HSBC announced that it will be cutting around 8,000 British jobs which equates to...

The Pound Sterling to Turkish Lira (GBP/TRY) exchange rate climbed by over 3.0% on Monday afternoon. After a report from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) slashed UK growth expectations, the Pound softened versus its major peers. CBI stated that pressures from the EU referendum and the potential Greek exit from the Eurozone will...

The Pound Sterling to Chilean Peso (GBP/CLP) exchange rate rallied on Friday afternoon. The Pound strengthened on Friday afternoon after a report from the Bank of England (BoE) showed British consumers upwardly revised forecasts for inflation over the next 12-month period. Inflation expectations rose from 1.9% to 2.2% in May....

After the Bank of England (BoE) opted to hold the cash rate, a decision most economists predicted, the Pound advanced versus many of its peers. The appreciation can be linked to traders accepting that the BoE policymaker’s choice to remain inactive was best for the UK at this juncture. This is due, in the main, to recent slowing services...

The Australian Dollar has seen a few days of solid appreciation after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) opted to hold rates in the face of ‘Aussie’ (AUD) overvaluation. Wednesday’s Australasian session saw the Oceanic currency continue to gain thanks to a combination of positive domestic growth data and a good result from China’s...

The Pound Sterling to Thai Baht (GBP/THB) exchange rate advanced by around 0.68% on Tuesday afternoon. In response to mostly positive results from domestic data publications, the British asset strengthened versus many of its currency peers. Of particular note were Mortgage Approvals which rose to the highest level in over a year, and the...

The Pound recovered in yesterday’s foreign exchange markets against both the Euro and US Dollar. In the UK, the latest GfK UK consumer confidence survey showed the most positive consumer sentiment in nine years this month further raising hopes of solid economic growth for the UK in the current second quarter of this year. This is now...

The Pound continued to slip against the Euro yesterday in the foreign exchange markets after the publication of the latest retail sales figures showed a sharp slowdown in June, calming analysts expectations of a potential Bank of England rate rise this year. The CBI Distributive Trades Survey published yesterday showed the balance of...

The Pound lost ground yesterday against both the Euro and the US Dollar in the currency markets after the Bank was accused of acting like an "unreliable boyfriend" in its hints over the timing of future interest rate rises by MP Pat McFadden in the latest Treasury select committee meeting with senior BoE officials. The governor...

The pound started the week on the ‘front foot’ after the publication of the latest UK consumer confidence data from Lloyds Bank which showed its highest reading since it launched in November 2010. Lloyds Bank Chief Economist Patrick Foley said positive economic news was continuing, with firm growth, more jobs and falling inflation all...

The pound fell against the euro for a third day in a row but hit a 5 year high against the US dollar following Wednesday’s latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve. In the UK, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported yesterday that UK mortgage lending stayed flat in May following the clampdown on borrowing that was...

The pound fell for the second day in a row against both the euro and the US dollar yesterday. On Tuesday, slightly softer than expected UK inflation data reversed the recent gains made by the pound which has seen it zoom on Monday to touch a 19 month high against the euro and a 4 and a half year high against the US dollar. UK inflation is now...

The pound fell from its new 19 month high against the euro after softer than expected UK inflation data was published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS reported that the UK consumer price index (CPI) fell sharply in May to a 1.5% year-on-year pace from the 1.8% recorded in April. This is the lowest reading since May...

The pound opened the trading week at a new 19 month high against the euro and over a 4 year high against the USD as the market still comes to terms with Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s words at last week’s Mansion House about UK interest rates. Yesterday, property website Rightmove reported that asking prices for homes in the...

Better than expected UK employment data gave the pound a further boost in the foreign exchange market yesterday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the UK unemployment rate has now fallen over the three months ended in April to a rate of 6.6%a further fall of 0.2% in a month. Even more encouragingly, the number of...

The pound hit its highest level against the euro since November 2008 after another batch of good UK economic data was published. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that UK gross domestic product (GDP) is likely be revised up by 4.6% in September following the inclusion of such changes as research and development costs and...

The pound was trading yesterday at its highest level against the Euro for 18 months after the stream of good economic data out of the UK continued with a survey from industry group EEF and accountants BDO which showed that UK manufacturers are optimistic about their growth prospects over the next three months. So much so that UK manufacturers...

The pound briefly trade yesterday afternoon at a 19 month high after the decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to lower the deposit rate into negative territory. As a result, the ECB becomes the first major central bank to take this policy initiative. The ECB’s decision to cut the deposit rate by 0.1% to -0.10% comes in the...

Ahead of Thursday’s latest policy announcement from the Bank of England, the pound softened against a number of currencies including surprisingly the euro. In UK economic data, Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) published their latest UK construction purchasing managers' index which showed that UK...

Ahead of the latest Bank of England policy decision due out on Thursday, the pound rose against the majority of the 16 most actively traded currencies in the market yesterday supported by a survey commissioned by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) which showed that the pace of economic growth in the UK picked up in May to its fastest...

The US dollar has now risen against the majority of the 16 most actively traded currencies for 7 straight days. The catalyst yesterday were comments from officials at the US Federal Reserve who tried to calm international investors by emphasising that the Fed’s bond purchase program will not be stopped until the economy strengthens....

The dollar continues to rally against all the major currencies, up for the sixth straight day in a row following US Federal Reserve Chairman’s Ben Bernanke’s comments at last week’s monthly policy meeting. The markets now expect the Federal Reserve to start to wind down its bond-buying quantitative Easing programme at the end of...

In the UK, property website Rightmove reported that the average asking price of properties in the UK has reached a new record high, above £250,000 for the first time. Data showed that asking prices rose by a further 1.2% in May, the sixth consecutive monthly rise of 2013 to date. Miles Shipside, Director and Housing Market Analyst at...

The Pound Sterling fell heavily yesterday against all the high yielding currencies, coming off recent multi month highs in the case of the Australian dollar and multi-month highs against the New Zealand dollar and South African Rand. The absence of any serious data out from the UK to support such a move left analysts suggesting that a...

The pound climbed to a 4 month high against the US dollar and a 9 month high against the New Zealand dollar yesterday on the back of better than expected UK employment data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported yesterday that UK unemployment fell slightly in May with the claimant count dropping by 8,600 versus forecasts of a...

A highly volatile day in the markets yesterday highlighted by the latest monthly policy decisions from both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. In the UK, the Bank of England (BoE) kept interest rates at their historic low of 0.5%, a rate held in place since March 2009. The BoE also kept its asset purchasing scheme,...

The pound received a further boost yesterday after the publication of better than expected UK services sector data as the sector expanded at its fastest rate in more than three years. The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for services climbed from the 52.9 reading in April to 54.9 in May, its strongest reading since March 2012....

Better than expected UK construction sector and retail sales data helped the pound reach its highest level against the Aussie for 13 months yesterday. Data from Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) showed an unexpected return to growth last months for the UK’s construction industry. The latest index...

Worldwide manufacturing data releases proved the highlight of yesterday’s data releases and were very much a mixed bag. The pound benefited from better than expected data with the UK manufacturing sector purchasing managers’ index for the month of May coming in at 51.3 points, a 14-month high. Growth in the sector was described...