Smart Currency Rates and Comments 27th November 2012 - A good day for Greece, will it be good for the euro?

Sterling

Sterling weakened slightly yesterday, slipping to 1.2330 against the euro before recovering in the afternoon and remaining relatively range bound against the majority of currencies, although, following the overnight decision to release the bailout funds to Greece we have seen the US dollar weaken on increased risk appetite. The main announcement from the UK yesterday was the surprise decision that the Governor of the Bank of Canada Mark Carney would be taking over from Mervyn King in July 2013 as the Governor of the Bank of England. The hope is that when he takes charge of the central bank he can help get the UK economy back on track. Revised quarterly GDP data released today is expected to match the preliminary reading at 1% growth, although some economists think there could be a slight downward revision. Please call in to get a detailed update from your trader.

Euro

The euro had a fairly mixed day yesterday before ultimately remaining range bound against its major trading peers. Overnight the next tranche of the Greek bailout of €44 billion was agreed to by the European finance ministers. Although this is clearly a very positive step for both the euro zone and Greece, initial market reaction has been muted which is probably due to the high level expectancy that agreement would be reached following last week's meeting. German Consumer Climate data that came out yesterday was worse than expected, suggesting financial confidence is falling in the Eurozone's powerhouse. Today sees very little data released.. Call in now to see if the agreement on Greece has had a delayed effect on the euro exchange rate and to get a live price.

US dollar

The US dollar remained fairly tightly range bound against its major peers yesterday, with relatively little data being released anywhere in the world. Today is unlikely to be as calm, with a range of data being released over the afternoon. Monthly Durable Goods sales, and Consumer Confidence data are likely to be the most influential. Last month saw a swing to the positive after a series of poor results, if this month's data is equally positive we could see dollar move on the announcement. Get in touch now to lock in a price.

Worldwide

Elsewhere, the biggest gainer yesterday was the Japanese yen due to a slight shift in risk aversion and as minutes from the Bank of Japan was released. The Philippine peso reached a four year high against the US dollar, whilst the Czech koruna, Norwegian krone and Polish zloty also all performed well. Inflation expectation and trade balance data was released from New Zealand overnight; but, little else is dues to be released today. Call in now to speak to a trader.