Sterling
US dollar
The US dollar began the week fairly quietly, that is until very strong retail data was released on Wednesday, giving further backing to a continued US economic recovery, helping boost the US dollar across the board by as much as a cent against the euro and reaching a two and a half hear highs against sterling, The good news has continued through the week with strong employment data released yesterday showing the number of new people claiming unemployment related benefits had risen by less than expected. We also seemed to see a return to US dollar weakness on good economic news and therefore increased risk aversion. It is another busy day for data in the US today with releases including consumer sentiment figures, core inflation data and industrial production statistics. The US dollar has been extremely strong recently; but, was softer yesterday, call in now to see how this trend could continue.
Worldwide
Elsewhere, the Hungarian forint was one of the biggest movers this week due to fears surrounding the actions taken by the new central bank governor over inflation; but, the vice governor of the central bank also stated that the recent weakness was “unwelcome”. The Japanese yen had a busy week recovering from a three and a half year low against the US dollar after the opposition party suggested it would oppose the nomination of Iwata as governor of the Bank of Japan – the upper house vote where the opposition party has the majority is being held today. The Australian dollar performed well yesterday after a strong jobs report was released showing a sharp increase in the number of new people employed in the last month causing unemployment to fall by more than anticipated. The Swiss National bank left its central bank interest rate unchanged and reaffirmed that is will defend the EUR/CHF 1.20 cap with unlimited funds. Call in now for a live quote.
I can't remember when last I was able to write that sterling is at a higher level against both the euro and the US dollar than this time last week. However this was on the back of good US economic news rather than good UK economic news as sterling gained a cent from recent lows, breaking through the 1.51 level against the US dollar and the 1.16 level against the euro. Reports suggesting Qatari officials have held talks about investing in infrastructure projects in the UK also helped. The bad news is that lots of economists are also suggesting that this gain was actually based on investors taking their profits on bets against the pound, and not on any underlying economic strength. As a consequence, the recovery looks fragile; limited support for government policy, the recent credit rating downgrade and speculation that the Bank of England will extend monetary easing all add up to create a poisonous cocktail for sterling. Indeed, HSBC yesterday downgraded their 2014 forecasts for the US dollar rate to 1.46 and the euro to 1.0420. Uncertain times indeed. Get in touch now for the latest news on this recent rally, and for up to the second rates.
Euro
It has been a mixed week for the euro, with a mid-week slump causing the euro to trade at well below 1.30 against the recovering US dollar, before regaining some lost ground at the end of the week. Early poor performance was due to a number of factors, among them the failed Italian debt auction and the comments from the German finance minister suggesting that a bailout package for Cyprus would not be agreed until further bank restructuring had occurred. Today, the EU summit goes into its second day of talks and much like yesterday, the discussions will no doubt have an impact on the euro, so keep an eye out for the market reaction. Elsewhere, we will see the release of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the past month, illustrating inflation in real terms. The outcomes of this will also be reflected in the markets. Get in touch for the latest rates and up to date information.
Euro
It has been a mixed week for the euro, with a mid-week slump causing the euro to trade at well below 1.30 against the recovering US dollar, before regaining some lost ground at the end of the week. Early poor performance was due to a number of factors, among them the failed Italian debt auction and the comments from the German finance minister suggesting that a bailout package for Cyprus would not be agreed until further bank restructuring had occurred. Today, the EU summit goes into its second day of talks and much like yesterday, the discussions will no doubt have an impact on the euro, so keep an eye out for the market reaction. Elsewhere, we will see the release of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the past month, illustrating inflation in real terms. The outcomes of this will also be reflected in the markets. Get in touch for the latest rates and up to date information.
US dollar
The US dollar began the week fairly quietly, that is until very strong retail data was released on Wednesday, giving further backing to a continued US economic recovery, helping boost the US dollar across the board by as much as a cent against the euro and reaching a two and a half hear highs against sterling, The good news has continued through the week with strong employment data released yesterday showing the number of new people claiming unemployment related benefits had risen by less than expected. We also seemed to see a return to US dollar weakness on good economic news and therefore increased risk aversion. It is another busy day for data in the US today with releases including consumer sentiment figures, core inflation data and industrial production statistics. The US dollar has been extremely strong recently; but, was softer yesterday, call in now to see how this trend could continue.
Worldwide
Elsewhere, the Hungarian forint was one of the biggest movers this week due to fears surrounding the actions taken by the new central bank governor over inflation; but, the vice governor of the central bank also stated that the recent weakness was “unwelcome”. The Japanese yen had a busy week recovering from a three and a half year low against the US dollar after the opposition party suggested it would oppose the nomination of Iwata as governor of the Bank of Japan – the upper house vote where the opposition party has the majority is being held today. The Australian dollar performed well yesterday after a strong jobs report was released showing a sharp increase in the number of new people employed in the last month causing unemployment to fall by more than anticipated. The Swiss National bank left its central bank interest rate unchanged and reaffirmed that is will defend the EUR/CHF 1.20 cap with unlimited funds. Call in now for a live quote.
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