Sterling stronger against the euro | Smart Daily Currency Note

Sterling

Sterling had a good day yesterday even though there was an absence of data released across the global markets. With strong retail sales figures last week there are encouraging signs for the British economy and sterling recovered from session lows to stem the its decline against the US dollar. Mortgage approval data today will shed some light on demand in the housing sector whilst Bank of England officials testifying on inflation could affect the markets early on. Moreover, with revised first quarter growth figures due on Thursday sterling prices could experience increased volatility as the week goes on, especially if there is a big revision from the original estimate . Call in now for the latest updates.

Euro

The euro was fairly flat yesterday, with no movement either way against the US dollar, and losing half a cent to a better performing sterling as a survey of Business Climate in Germany underwhelmed the markets. Today is even quieter on the news front than yesterday, but we can still expect to see volatility as the euro remains susceptible to releases from around the world. Increasing concerns that Germany – Europe’s powerhouse - is struggling to return to a state of growth will affect the euro's relative price as the week progresses due to the substantial amount of key data released throughout the remainder of the week. Call in today for the latest news and rates for the euro.

US dollar

It was a relatively weak day for the US dollar yesterday, losing ground to sterling and failing to make any gains against the euro. In contrast to yesterday's slow news flow, today sees a number of key releases. At present, forecasts suggest that consumer confidence may have tailed off since last month, core durable goods orders are expected to have slipped slightly, but, new home sales are set to have increased. With all three releases coming in the early afternoon US time, we can expect volatility but which way the dollar is likely to trend is less certain. It would seem that a dramatic move is only likely if either of the sets of figures surprise, though the main driver in the market still surrounds the Federal Reserve’s potential to tighten monetary policy. Call your trader today to find out how the dollar has been moving.

Worldwide

Elsewhere, the Canadian dollar continued to struggle in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's announcement last week that it will end monetary stimulus. The Canadian dollar declined against the majority of its 16 major trading partners yesterday; approaching a two-year low against its US counterpart. Both Scandinavian krone struggled, carrying over a difficult end to last week. The Norwegian krone fell almost 2 percent against sterling as markets continued to react to last week's surprise cut in interest rates, with its Swedish counterpart being hit hard too. Today is fairly a fairly quiet day data-wise, though we can expect volatility around lunch time as the Swiss National Bank governor speaks. Markets will doubtless react to any hints as to future economic policy. Get in touch for up to the second rates and news for your currency.