Sterling
Sterling performed poorly yesterday, tumbling against all major currencies bar the Japanese yen. After reaching a one month high paired with its dollar counterpart towards the end of last week, the rate dropped back to below 1.5250 yesterday afternoon. Having been a quiet day for affective data, it is likely that general caution regarding the nation's precarious economic situation and the on-going speculation concerning whether or not we see further quantitative easing have influenced the slip. Furthermore, some traders feel that sterling was “over-bought” at the end of last week and so we are seeing these positions unwind. Today however, manufacturing output figures being released should give traders further indication of Britain's economic health, and moreover this will be followed by a monthly GDP estimate from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). Call in now for live rates and up to the minute information.
The euro had a strong start to the week, climbing back above the psychological 1.30 level against the dollar by lunchtime yesterday as Russia committed to restructuring Cyprus' 2.5 billion euro loan of 2011, whilst Portugal declared promises to step up its austerity drive following their Constitutional Court's decision not to cut payments to pensioners and public service employees. The country's next bailout package will be reviewed with a 'growth-friendly' perspective according to the EU President as many countries struggle to put a cohesive economic scaffolding in place. Indeed, many governments are relying increasingly on monetary support and it appears increasingly likely that the European Central Bank may have to lower interest rates later in the Spring. Other data released yesterday showed that Investor Confidence for April had sank to its lowest reading of 2013. The single-currency has regained some momentum recently and today’s data will certainly be watched closely by investors. The main announcement will be the Manufacturing PMI figures but alongside this we also have inflation data in Germany and more unemployment data from Spain . Stay up-to date with news and prices with Smart.
The start of the week has been relatively quiet for the US dollar with the markets nervous in the run up to last night’s Federal Markets conference. As always, particular attention was given to the Federal Reserve Chairman’s speech addressing America's financial stability as well as investors keeping one eye on the release on Wednesday of the meeting minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Today sees the monthly report on wholesale inventories released as the currency's performance continues to respond to disappointing employment figures from last week. Call in for the latest news and live quote from your trader.
Worldwide
Elsewhere the big story yesterday came from Japan with the yen breaking through the 99 mark against the US dollar for the first time in nearly 4 years. The Bank of Japan has openly targeted a rate of 100, pumping money into the economy in an effort to drive inflation up, and exchange rates down. The Hungarian forint was the biggest mover of the day, gaining over a percent against sterling as a major bank announced that interest free loans would be made available to small companies to boost the economy. The Polish zloty was not far behind, also making large gains on speculation of an interest rate cut in the near future. Canadian Building Permit data released today is expected to be a marked improvement on last month; expect the Canadian dollar to benefit if it is. Call in now for the latest news on your currency pair.
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