The Pound is holding its ground against the Euro and US Dollar as the markets await the release of the latest US non-farm payrolls data due Friday afternoon. The currency has been supported by further positive data for the UK economy.
Britain’s trade deficit narrowed more than economists had been expecting in April as imports into the country fell drastically. According to the Office for National Statistics the UK’s trade deficit shrank to £8.224 billion, down from £9.175 billion. The deficit with nations from outside the struggling EU narrowed to just £3.414 billion in April from £3.469 billion in March and was lower than forecasts for a gap of £3.6 billion.
The UK has improved its trade figures by focusing more on nations outside the EU such as the USA and other economically strong countries, in regard to the EU area UK exports were at their lowest level in three months as most of Europe continues to slide deeper into recession.
Vicky Redwood, chief UK economist at Capital Economics says, “April’s UK trade figures add to the growing list of positive economic news. These figures therefore set the second quarter off to a fairly good start and tentatively suggest that net trade might be playing some role in the apparent acceleration in economic growth shown by the business surveys.
That said, with survey measures of export orders still mediocre and the euro-zone still in recession, it seems unlikely that net trade will provide a significant support to the overall recovery in the coming few months.”
The Pound is not expected to make much movement until later into Friday’s session as the markets wait for the latest US jobs data.
Current Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rates
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The Pound Sterling/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5556 >
The Pound Sterling/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1758
The Pound Sterling/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.9550 >
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6419 <
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8492 <
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6092 <
The New Zealand Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5107 <
(As of 10:55am GMT)
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