While the Pound advanced on its US rival last week after the Federal Reserve opted to refrain from tapering stimulus, triggering widespread ‘Greenback’ declines in the process, a less than impressive retail sales result for the UK saw Sterling reverse its recent bullish trend.
However, after posting declines for two days the GBP/USD pairing has strengthened on the expectation of positive UK news.
The Pound Sterling to US Dollar Exchange Rate was in the region of 1.6043 as of 10:45 GMT.
As the European session got underway the Pound rallied to an almost eight-month high against the US Dollar in spite of ongoing speculation regarding the likelihood of a so-called ‘Octaper’ from the Fed.
The British currency was bolstered by optimistic forecasts for this week’s most influential UK data.
Economists have predicted that Thursday’s final GDP report will show that the UK economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of the year after expanding by 0.3 per cent in the three months from January.
Meanwhile, separate reports are expected to reveal an increase in domestic house prices and consumer confidence.
BBA loans for house purchase data is scheduled for release tomorrow at 09:30 GMT, while the nation’s consumer confidence survey for September is out on Friday at 00:05 GMT. The sentiment gauge is forecast to advance from -13 in August to -11 in September.
1 US Dollar is currently worth 0.6232 pence
In response to Sterling’s modest strengthening against the US Dollar, foreign-exchange strategist Michael Sneyd commented; ‘It’s a very quiet week in the UK. Dollar factors will continue to dominate. The data calendar is very light so we could see Pound-Dollar remain supported somewhat.’
That being said, if today’s preliminary US Markit PMI surprises to the upside, and so supports the case for an ‘Octaper’, the GBP/USD pairing could give up its earlier gains.
Meanwhile, the GBP/EUR pairing was little changed following the publication of manufacturing/services PMI for the Eurozone and Germany. While manufacturing figures failed to meet estimates, services PMI exceeded them. The Euro strengthened against peers like the Pound over the weekend after German Chancellor Angela Merkel secured a decisive victory in the Federal elections.
Current Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rates:
< Down > Up
The Pound Sterling/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6043 >
The Pound Sterling/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1868 >
The Pound Sterling/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.7019 <
The Pound Sterling/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.9154 <
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6232 <
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8426 <
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5876 >
The New Zealand Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5226 >
(As of 10:45 GMT)
Comments are closed.