Monetary policy meetings and interest rate hikes – Will the Pound weaken further this...

The week ahead will be a major one for the Pound, Euro and US Dollar will all three respective central banks announcing further developments in their battle to reduce inflation back to target levels, through their monetary policy meetings this week. Monetary policy meetings and decisions on interest rates help us to understand the current health of the economy, which is the main influence on a currency’s value and, any adverse movement away from the expectation within the market, may result in volatile movement. The...

Sterling weaker following poor economic data – will the pound drop further?

Sterling weaker following poor economic data – will the pound drop further? Sterling opened yesterdays session at a weekly low against the single currency. The pairing increased throughout the day but is trading more than a cent lower than the monthly high reached last week, following strong UK inflation data. PMI data released on Tuesday morning is the catalyst for the latest move. PMI data (Purchasing Managers’ Index) measures the performance of the manufacturing and services industries. The index provides insight into the current and future...

Sterling rallies after UK inflation stays high – Will the pound gain strength this...

The Pound rallied and saw some gains in the recent week finishing at 1.1423 against the Euro and 1.2392 against the Dollar. The pound strengthened after the UK labour market data on Tuesday displayed a new record high for UK wages showing the UK is nowhere near finished with high inflation thus putting pressure on the Bank of England (BoE) to raise the interest rate by 50 basis points. This upswing in the Pound continued after Wednesday showing a smaller than expected decrease in inflation...

Pound hits monthly highs against the Euro and Dollar – will the rise continue?

Pound hits monthly highs against the Euro and Dollar – will the rise continue? Sterling rose to monthly highs against a number of its major counterparts during yesterday’s session following stronger than expected inflation data. The pound rose against both the euro and the dollar during the most positive session of the year for the currency. A transfer of £200,000 is buying €4000 and $11,000 more than the low of the last four weeks. ONS data showed that UK inflation dropped from 10.7% to 10.5%. Inflation has...

Could UK Inflation Data Influence GBP Exchange Rates This Week?

The Pound begun the week in an uneventful fashion after trading within thin ranges throughout Monday’s trading session. The Pound to Euro exchange rate remains quite rangebound at the moment, mostly trading between 1.1250 to 1.1300 with no signs of a breakout from this range at the moment. This morning is a good example of this trading pattern, with the pair hitting exactly 1.1250 before rising slightly. Jobs data released this morning has done little to influence GBP exchange rates although perhaps tomorrows inflation data could...

Will the pound get stronger? Growth figures show a surprise positive reading on Friday

The UK looks set to avoid a recession in 2022 as GDP data was announced on Friday. The UK economy grew by 0.1% in November, with the services sector providing a welcome boost when a 0.2% expansion was announced. This came as a surprise to many forecasters, with a 0.3% GDP contraction the market expectation. Despite this, the pound failed to make any significant gains against the Euro, finishing the week trading at 1.1280 – a near 0.75% decrease since markets opened on Monday. The Pound...

Sterling exchange rates against Euro and Dollar this week

As we entered the new year, sterling ended a turbulent week on the up against both the euro and the dollar after a wave of data across the continent and the pond was released. The pound finished the week over 0.5 cents higher (1.1360) than where it started (1.1290) against the euro and at similar levels to where it started (1.2060) against the dollar. The pound managed to recover over 2 cents alone against the greenback on Friday after early week losses. The cause for...
GBP USD Slips Ahead of BoE Rate Decision

US Dollar improves against the Pound and the Euro

US Dollar vs Pound hits 3 week high The US Dollar vs both the Euro and the Pound has started to increase once again ahead of the latest US employment data due out later today. The US ADP jobs report published yesterday was stronger than expected and this has provided further levels of support for the US Dollar. The most recent Federal Reserve minutes were also published this week which has signalled that we could see further interest rate hikes moving into this year. As we look ahead...

UK economy expecting a tough year – how will this impact the pound?

UK economy expecting a tough year – how will this impact the pound? Pound sterling exchange rates experienced a tough end to the year 2022. Throughout last year the Bank of England raised interest rates in an attempt to cool-off rampant inflation. This saw interest rates rise from 0.25% to 3.5%. The interest rate hikes initially provided support for the pound, but the last few BoE meetings have been surrounded with negative commentary regarding the UK’s economic outlook. The cost of borrowing in the UK has...

What will 2023 Bring For Sterling Exchange Rates?

Sterling exchange rates have dropped on the whole throughout 2022 and it is fair to say there are a number of quite obvious reasons behind the poor performance of the pound over the course of the year. Here is a summary of GBP paired against a selection of major currencies and the movement since 1st Jan 2022 as an example. GBP/USD -10.79% GBP/EUR -4.97% GBP/CAD -5.44% GBP/AUD -4.69% GBP/CHF -9.97% All in all, the above suggests the pound indeed had a torrid time of it, most notably shortly after Liz Truss...