Pound Sterling Forecast

Good morning readers, overnight we saw the Chinese GDP (Gross Domestic Product) data come out much better than expected, with China being a major factor to the continuing positive charge from the Australian Dollar  this has pushed the AUD to new highs.

This morning probably the biggest potential market mover of the day for the Pound came out exactly as had been expected and the markets are fairly flat following this….

Roughly 0.5% movement back for the AUD, NZD and ZAR against the Pound but all in all the markets are flat as a pancake so far so no need to panic if you have an imminent trade to carry out.

Also, happy Thanksgiving to all in the USA and I hope you have a great day over there!!

This may lead to slightly thinner trading due to the American markets being closed which sometimes can add to voliatility if something does happen so you should be aware of this as well!

Again it appears that Italy, Greece and Europe are taking the headlines but we also need to remember that there are still key data releases due for the U.K this morning and this afternoon.

At 09:30am we see Industrial and Manufacturing data, last time around this was particuarly poor so should this be getting any worse then it could start a turn around for the Pound, however a slightly better release may well push us on that little bit higher. Later on today we see the NIESR (National Institute of Social and Economic Research) release their GDP predictions. The NIESR are a well respected think tank within the U.K and their opinion can drive the markets should it be different than predicted. Expected is for them to echo the last release and come out with 0.5% however from memory I feel seem to note they have revised their predictions down a few times this year… This and indeed poor manufacturing data could come in from the blindside for those waiting on more Euro doom and gloom today and knock the Pound back a peg or two.

If you have an upcoming transaction to make and want to compare your bank or current broker (you don’t buy a TV without shopping around!) Contact me directly djw@currencies.co.uk and see just how much I can save you along with adding the very highest level of customer service.

Yesterday saw the largest movement for the Swiss Franc in its history as the Swiss National Bank decided to set a minimal level for the Franc against the Euro. Within ten minutes the CHF weakened by roughly 8% against everything as CHF was sold off rapidly by the SNB to get from 1.10 to 1.20 against the Euro, also against the Pound we saw similar movements as GBP-CHF went to 1.38 from 1.25!

Lets see what has actually happened here and what effect this may have gonig forward not just for EUR and CHF but for many other currencies too….

The Swiss are in effect saying they will buy unlimited quantities of of currency in order to keep the EUR-CHF rate at a minimum level of 1.20, personally if I had an investment in Swiss Francs and at some point I had to bring it back into Euros then why hold on now, I would sell it straight away as by all accounts the SNB say it will never get any better than this to sell…. This may lead to a large sell off of CHF in the coming weeks and months which may weaken the Swiss Franc and lead to investors looking for other places to store their funds.

On the other hand justhow much money have the SNB got to combat this??!! By decreasing the value in Swiss Francs it will increase demand, and many investors will no doubt see this as a buying opportunity which may mean that the SNB face an ongoing battle against investor appetite, the longer this goes on the more they have to draw on and do they really have a bottomless pit of money?? I don’t think so!

Yesterday saw the Pound lose ground against most majors following this, we slipped below the 1.60 mark against the Dollar as investors turned to gold (priced in Dollars) and also the Euro and antipdean currencies gained as it appears Sterling is still nowhere near the currency of choice.

Last night saw Australian GDP figures released and they came out 1% growth for their economy, much better than the 1% expected and leading to a good bit of AUD strength….. This goes to show Australiais still boxing on well in the global economic nightmare compared to the U.K showing a rather dismal 0.2%. Be aware this may lead to the AUD being fairly solid again in the near term so those of you with transactions to make may wish to think fast.

If you have a Swiss Franc mortgage, you are emigrating to Australia, you have business transactions to send overseas or any general need to transfer anything from £1000 to multi millions from one bank account to another involving a currency exchange then contact me directly djw@currencies.co.uk or by calling me during U.K office hours on +44 (0) 1494 787 462 and I will be happy to help you get the best rate along with a great level of customer service.

I look forward to hearing from you and heres to another busy day on the markets!

Good morning readers, an early start for Pound followers this morning, GDP figures for the U.K are released at 09:30am and as mentioned above, although they are not as important as the initial release, any major change to expectations could easily lead to high volatility.

Expectations are for no change to the first release and for GDP for quarter one to stay at 0.5% so a drop would be worrying and and increase great news.

Gross Domestic Product data generally means whether or not the economy grew or shrank over a period of time (usually measured on an either monthly, quarterly or yearly basis) and should an economy have two quarters of negative growth this leads to them officially being in a recession.

I do not believe the U.K will be heading back this way anytime soon, however there have been many surprises pop up over the past few years, personally it wouldn’t surprise me to see figures as expected if not slightly better this morning, and potentially some Sterling strength today.

If your business carries out regular transactions involving currency exchange, you are buying or selling a property abroad or have any other currency requirement be it large or small, fill in the enquiry form on the right hand side of this page or email me directly djw@currencies.co.uk and I will be more than happy to save you a substantial amount over using your bank.

The Pound has had a mixed start to the week so far, Making gains against the Euro, Australian Dollar and a host of other currencies whilst dropping against the Dollar, Yen and Swiss Franc.

It is a mixed market at the moment and really hard to call, GDP ( Gross Domestic Product) figures are key this week and we see this data out for Germany tomorrow morning, the U.K on Wednesday and the States on Thursday afternoon. GDP measures how much an economy has grown or shrunk over a period of time. These particular releases are revisions from the first quarter of 2011, and any changes to what has been predicted or was released originally could well lead to a lot of volatility.

Certainly worth keeping a close eye on the three and it sets us up to have an interesting week, we also have public sector net borrowing out for the U.K tomorrow morning at 09:30am which is bound to give us some talking points… watch this space for the effects that the releases do have.

If you are buying a property abroad, have business transactions to carry out or need to get money overseas for any other reason and want the best exchange rates, just fill in the form on the right hand side and one of the experienced traders that write on this blog will be in touch shortly.

Tomorrow will be important for those of you tracking the strength of the Euro against Sterlnig as we see not only GDP (Gross Domestic Product) figures, Retail Sales figures and also the interest rate decision by the ECB (European Central Bank).

All three may lead to Euro volatility, GDP and retail sales are both out at 10:00am followed by the rate decision due at 12:45pm.

Personally I would be surprised to see a rate hike in the Euro Zone as they are still carrying some pretty weak economies under their wing and this could really damage them going forward.

Either way it is certainly set to be an interesting day and personally I think the Euro may suffer slightly as they are very good at sweeping things under the carpet and I feel they are further back than they appear in their recovery.

Keep your eyes peeled on www.poundsterlingforecast.com for news on what happens during a reasonably quiet day for the Pound.

If you are buying or selling a property abroad, have business transactions to carry out or need to get money overseas for any other reason and want the best exchange rates, just fill in the form on the right hand side and one of the experienced traders that write on this blog will be in touch shortly.

Some great buying opportunities have arisen this afternoon following the numerous reasons listed above, phones here in the office have been going crazy as people jump to take advantage of a spike in their favour, just today’s movement against the Euro makes a €400,000 property purchase nearly £3000 cheaper… taking advantage of movements like this can make all the difference!

I would expect this may well bring a little bit of positive feeling about the U.K and indeed the Pound in the short term but as you will know the pattern over the past few years has been that as soon as we look like we are heading in the right direction something comes back to knock the Pound right back down again, this may not happen however it is certainly something to be aware of.

Sterling has had a brighter start to the day following reasonably good retail sales figures released overnight.

The Pound is up against pretty much all major currencies, creating some fantastic buying opportunities for those looking to send money overseas in the near future.

The rest of the week brings out Halifax house price data, due at some point todayalong with the NIESR GDP Estimate – This is an estimate by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and can be quite a market mover should their predicitons be a way off of current Gross Domestic Product estimates.

Tomorrow  we see New Zealand announce their interest rate decision, it is widely thought that they will keep rates on hold as Australia did last night however any surprise may lead to a volatile night for GBP-NZD rates.

The Bank Of England also have their monthloy interest rate decision on Thursday at 12:00 and with the last few occasions showing many menbers apparently sitting on the fence to see how the economic battle pans out one would imagine we won’t see any huge movements off of the back of this, however be aware they do like to surprise us now and then.

I feel we may see a reasonably flat week from here forward however that outlook could change considerably so keep an eye on the site for updates later in the week.

If you are buying or selling a property abroad, have business transactions to carry out or simply need to get money overseas for any other reason and want the best exchange rates, just fill in the form on the right hand side and one of the experienced traders that write on this blog will be in touch shortly. Alternatively, if you would like assistance in finding your dream home abroad then feel free to visit www.overseaspropertysearcher.com and let one of our property experts make the hunt much easier for you.

As predicted in my last post the GDP figures did come out better than expected and have led to a decent level of Sterling strength this morning, predicted was 0.40% and the economy actually grew by 0.80% twice as much as predicted.

Another minor string in the bow for the Pound Sterling Forecast team! 

This has led to much better buying opportunities should you have a transaction to carrry out and is much better news for those looking to send money overseas.

If you are buying or selling a property abroad, have business transactions to carry out or simply need to get money overseas for any other reason and want the best exchange rates, just fill in the form on the right hand side and one of the experienced traders that write on this blog will be in touch shortly. Alternatively, if you would like assistance in finding your dream home abroad then feel free to visit www.overseaspropertysearcher.com and let one of our property experts make the hunt much easier for you.