The Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate has been a poor prospect among investors today, as have a bulk of the other Pound (GBP) pairings. The US Dollar (USD), by contrast, has made progressive gains against its currency competitors.
GBP/USD Exchange Rate News: Johnson’s Optimism for ‘Brexit’ Fails to Inspire Confidence among Investors
The Pound (GBP) has been on the rocks overall today, having recorded losses of a small amount against the Euro (GBP/EUR), -0.2% against the US Dollar (GBP/USD) and -0.4% against the Israeli New Shekel (GBP/ILS). On the positive side, a gain of 0.5% has been recorded against the Hungarian Forint (GBP/HUF). This slip against the Dollar is a marginal improvement relative to the start of the week.
The Pound’s movement today has been partly frozen by the lack of direct economic announcements. On the wider front, the UK currency has been unsettled by ongoing talks between Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the Commons Treasury Committee regarding the UK Referendum.
In what can only be described as a blindly optimistic tone, Johnson has predicted that the UK will be unanimously better-off outside of Europe, that business will be stimulated and that trade agreements can be reinstated with a great degree of ease in the event of a ‘Brexit’. The fact that Sterling has remained weak against its rivals today suggests that few believe these claims, not least among them the highly sceptical Committee.
US Dollar (USD) Strengthens as Fed Increases Support for Future Interest Rate Hikes
The US Dollar (USD) has performed well today against almost all of its rivals, with the exception of a small dip against the Indian Rupee (USD/INR). Gains have been made up of 0.2% against the Euro (USD/EUR), 0.3% against the Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) and 0.4% against the Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK).
The most recent support for the rising ‘Buck’ has come from the Federal Reserve, with members Patrick Harker and Charles Evans both speaking out in support of at least two interest rate hikes taking place this year, potentially as early as April.
GBP/USD Exchange Rate Forecast: US Home Sales and UK Retail Sales due in Near-Future
The next data set to shift the current balance in the GBP/USD pairing will come from the US, in the form of the national new home sales in February. These are forecast to rise from a negative range to a positive one.
The UK will have its retail sales stats for February to contribute tomorrow morning; these have conversely been predicted in a negative light.
Current GBP, USD Exchange Rates
The Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.4181 and the US Dollar to Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.7052 today.
Comments are closed.