On Friday a combination of the weaker-than-expected US GDP and the better-than-expected UK GDP released the day before allowed the Pound to rise to a two-month high against the US Dollar and strengthen against several of its other main rivals.
The Pound Sterling Exchange Rate was in the region of 1.5528 against the US Dollar as of 10:55 am GMT
Although posting quarterly economic growth of 0.3 per cent is comparatively poor, given that the UK has been teetering on the edge of a triple-dip recession for the past few months (and that growth of just 0.1 per cent was expected) this was undoubtedly good news for the UK.
And Sterling was able to continue advancing on its peers this morning as a report compiled by Hometrack Ltd revealed a 0.3 per cent increase in average UK house price values.
This gain follows a prior advance of 0.3 per cent in March, which was the largest gain for three years. House price values in London were 0.7 per cent higher.
As one industry expert comments: ‘Investors have been very downbeat on their expectations of the UK economic performance so the recent data has been a surprise to the upside. There was a lot of anti-sterling sentiment. The data is proving to be slightly better than expected.’
Meanwhile, the Lloyd’s Business Barometer report revealed a second month of rising economic and business sentiment.
The index rose from 20 in March to 27 in April.
The Pound is now trading within the region of a ten-week high against the US Dollar and enjoying its most significant winning streak against the ‘Greenback’ since November of last year.
Further Sterling gains could occur if today’s US consumer spending figures reveal stagnation, as expected by economists.
However, the Pound was little changed against the Euro as the common currency broadly strengthened in response to Italy finally swearing in a new Prime Minister. With Enrico Letta now at the helm of the nation the last two-months of political uncertainty are at an end. However, additional Euro volatility is likely to follow the release of German CPI data.
Current Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rates
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The Pound Sterling/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5528 >
The Pound Sterling/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1862 <
The Pound Sterling/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5028 <
The Pound Sterling/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.8200 <
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6440 <
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8428 >
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6654 >
The New Zealand Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5492 >
(As of 10:55 am GMT)
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