Sterling surges up against Euro May 2011

26th May 2011
Good morning. The pound surged against the Euro yesterday, after reports Greece may have to face fresh austerity measures weakened the single currency. At one point levels hit €1.1573 which is best exchange rates to buy Euros for 2 months. However, as usual the gains were short lived. At 08:30am this morning rates are as follows:

• GBP/EUR 1.1486


• GBP/USD 1.6296


• GBP/AUD 1.5368


• GBP/NZD 2.0147


• GBP/CAD 1.5906


• GBP/CHF 1.4189


• GBP/ZAR 11.330


• GBP/JPY 133.49


• GBP/NOK 8.963


• GBP/DKK 8.5619


• EUR/USD 1.4186

Pound hits €1.1575 against Euro, then falls

So why did the Pound gain so much against the Euro? It was due to reports that the Greek government is organising a referendum on more austerity measures, and this cast doubt on Greece's ability to tackle it's debt crisis.

So, this weakened the Euro significantly and as an alternative to the Euro investors flocked to the Pound, giving it some strength.

These gains were despite data showing household spending had fallen, and growth was at the 0.5% that analysts had expected. Most analysts now expect the Bank of England to raise rates in 2012, and it's not expected there will now be any hikes in the rate this year.

Will Sterling continue to go up against the Euro?

Unlikely. It's already fallen a point back into the €1.14's this morning. It's snapped back as it was simply investors taking advantage of the spike in the rate, and with the EU likely to raise interest rates several times this year while the UK doesn't, it's probably the case that the Euro will regain strength once debt issues in EU countries are out of the headlines.

Today's Data

Nothing of note for the UK, so don't expect any surprise gains as we saw yesterday. In the USA we have GDP figures and jobless claims, so we could see some movement for GBP/USD today.

If you need to buy or sell foreign currency, click below now to send us an enquiry for free. Our exhange rates are up to 5% better than offered by banks. Take the first step to making the most of your currency now.

Pound up against Euro ahead of GDP figures

25th May 2011
Good morning. Sterling is back up above €1.15 against the Euro this morning, recovering losses yesterday after Moodys threatened to cut the credit rating of some UK banks. At 08:30am this morning rates are as follows:

• GBP/EUR 1.1513


• GBP/USD 1.6147


• GBP/AUD 1.5410


• GBP/NZD 2.0355


• GBP/CAD 1.5834


• GBP/CHF 1.4201


• GBP/ZAR 11.350


• GBP/JPY 132.21


• GBP/NOK 9.039


• GBP/DKK 8.5842


• EUR/USD 1.4023

Pound up against Euro but analysts expect Sterling weakness

The credit agency Moodys recently said it may downgrade the rating of some UK banks and this weakened Sterling yesterday against most currencies. Small Euro gains against the Dollar also helped prop up Sterling.

Analysts say that the general weakness of Sterling vs the Euro mean that the Pound will probably remain vulnerable due to concerns about the banking sector and the fragile UK economic recovery.

Rates to buy Euros are now back to a 2 month high, so those that missed the chance on Monday to buy at these levels has another opportunity today. With weakness in the economy rates could fall back away, and it was only several weeks ago rates were at their worst for over a year.

Today's Data

At 09:30am this morning we see UK GDP figures. This is a measure of economic activity and will show by how much the economy is growing. It's the most important release of the week for Sterling and could well alter rate significantly.

We expect quarterly growth of 0.5%. If it's more than this then Sterling will gain against other currencies. If it's less, then this will show that the recovery is stalling and expect big falls for the Pound.

You can keep up to date throughout the day on our Twitter page. This will have regular rate updates and information on the GDP data in addition to other releases.

If you need to buy or sell foreign currency, click below now to send us an enquiry for free. Our exhange rates are up to 5% better than offered by banks. Take the first step to making the most of your currency now.

Sterling hits new high vs Euro, what will December hold?

1st December 2010
Good morning. The pound rose again to a new 2 month high vs the Euro yesterday, after a rescue package for Ireland failed to dampen speculation other bailouts would be needed in the euro zone. Rates at 08:30am are as follows:

• GBP/EUR 1.1924
• GBP/USD 1.5587
• GBP/AUD 1.6167
• GBP/NZD 2.0852
• GBP/CAD 1.5912
• GBP/CHF 1.5659
• GBP/ZAR 10.974
• GBP/NOK 9.6032
• GBP/JPY 130.45
• GBP/DKK 8.883
• EUR/USD 1.3070

Weak Euro pushes GBP/EUR to new 2 month high

The worries over sovereign debt continue to weigh on the Euro, weakening it again against other currencies. This has helped push rates through the €1.19 barrier yesterday. "The market is still extremely nervous about sovereign risk, with Italy now being drawn into the firing line," said Gavin Friend, currency analyst at nabCapital.

"But in the near-term I think we might be getting over-extended here. A strong set of euro zone PMIs this week would go a long way to helping the euro find a base," he said. Manufacturing PMI surveys for the euro zone are released today.

The agreement of a €85bn emergency aid package for Ireland, felled by the costs of bailing out its banks, has failed to allay market fears over the health of the eurozone. It won't last forever though. Given the continued weakness of the Euro over the last few weeks, some analysts think we could now be coming to the end of the weak run.

Analysts said the market was looking for more pre-emptive action by policy-makers in the region after a rescue package for Ireland at the weekend, as pressure in the euro zone bond market was widening to more countries including Belgium. If the EU policy makers can calm the markets, and there were more positive economic figures from the Eurozone, then we could see the Euro gather strength again.

When should you buy your Euros?

Of course in a rising market, nobody want to fix a rate just to see things improve. However it's also important to note it was only a matter of weeks ago that rates were languishing in the €1.11's. If you want to hope rates improve but don't want to be caught out should rates drop, then a Stop Loss order is very useful.

This allows you to set a level where your currency is bought should rates fall; €1.17 for example. In this way you can continue to take advantage of any gains in the exchange rate, but at the same time have a safety net should rates drop back. Stop Loss orders are available for any client wishing to purchase £10k+ of foreign currency. To discuss your requirement and see how much you could save with our commercial exchange rates, contact us today.

Today's Data

From the UK, inflation data will be closely watched as an indicator of what the Bank of England may do at their next interest rate meeting. We also have inflation data for the EU so expect GBP/EUR volatility today. Should the numbers from the EU be better than expected, we could see rates start to fall for the Euro after weeks of gains. From the US, the main release is Construction and manufacturing data.