Sterling exchange rates ended the month of April on a high after posting gains on Friday, with GBP/USD hitting the financial headlines as it traded near an 11-month high.
Despite GBP/USD softening slightly since Friday’s highs, the pair are currently trading roughly 1.5 cents from the annual high of 1.2667.
On Friday cable (GBP/USD) broke above 1.25 and climbed as high as 1.2580 at one stage. This move was mostly due to US Dollar weakness as the FED Reserve struggles to counter increasing inflation levels in the US. The good news for our readers hoping for a stronger Pound though, is the GBP strength spilled over into other pairs which helped GBP/EUR break back above the 1.1400 handle.
Month end-position adjustment also worked in Sterling’s favour at the end of last week.
This morning much of the focus is on the UK housing market as prices picked up in April by 0.5%. This is a reversal of the long-term trend as prior to April’s gains, prices had dropped for 7 consecutive months.
Later this morning the latest factory PMI reports will show how manufacturers performed in the UK and the EU in April. Economic announcements covering the economy can potentially move the currency markets, so moving forward if you wish to be alerted to short term price changes do feel free to register your interest.
Later this week there will also be interest rate decisions from both the Federal Reserve in the US and the European Central Bank in the Eurozone.
These announcements take place on Wednesday (US) and Thursday (Eurozone) so these updates are worth following as larger hikes than expected could result in market volatility.
If you wish to discuss exchange rates as you’re planning on making a currency exchange, do feel free to contact me (Joe) on [email protected] as I’ll be happy to provide insight and quotes. Sterling exchange rates have experienced a volatile year of trading so guidance could be useful when making your decision on when to make your currency conversion.
