Pound News: Signs of Improved Consumer Confidence Fail to Shore up Sterling While April’s UK retail sales data showed a surprisingly strong uptick of 1.5% on the year this was not enough to shore up Pound (GBP) exchange rates for long. Markets remain sceptical as to whether this rebound will ultimately prove to be short-lived…(read more)

Pound News: Falling Inflation Weighs on BoE Rate Hike Odds Demand for the Pound (GBP) diminished sharply yesterday thanks to an unexpected weakening of the UK consumer price index. As inflationary pressure showed a surprise dip from 2.5% to 2.4% on the year this undermined the case for a summer interest rate hike from the…(read more)

Pound News: Signs of BoE Hawkishness Prompted Sterling Volatility Pound (GBP) exchange rates surged higher on Tuesday morning thanks to comments from Bank of England (BoE) policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe. As Vlieghe suggested that interest rates could rise six times over the next three years the mood towards the Pound naturally improved, although the boost ultimately…(read more)

Pound News: GBP Weakened by Customs Union Concerns The Pound (GBP) struggled against a basket of currency peers on Monday, posting losses on growing concerns about the UK after Brexit. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson caused concern by saying that the UK should leave the EU customs union, disregarding an emergency ‘backstop’ that was recently agreed…(read more)

Last week’s high: C$1.7402 Last week’s low: C$1.7226 Canadian Dollar Buoyed by Soaring Oil Prices The Pound Canadian Dollar exchange rate experienced volatility this week amid a jump in oil prices which saw Brent crude break past $80 a barrel, lending support to the ‘Loonie’. Also driving movement in the pairing this week was the…(read more)

Last week’s high: AU$1.8097 Last week’s low: AU$1.7921 Strong Commodity Prices Keep Australian Dollar Buoyant Despite some speculation that the UK could remain in an EU customs union following Brexit, the Pound to Australian Dollar exchange rate was unable to sustain gains last week and closed relatively closely to the week’s opening levels. Sterling has…(read more)

Last week’s high: $1.3605 Last week’s low: $1.3453 GBP/USD Close to 5-Month Low The Pound struggled against the US Dollar last week, trading at its lowest level since December 2017. The deterioration was partly caused by Bank of England (BoE) Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent, who labelled the UK economy as ‘past its peak’. In US…(read more)

Last week’s high: €1.1471 Last week’s low: €1.1330 Brexit-Based Uncertainty Limits GBP/EUR Exchange Rate Gains The first quarter German gross domestic product disappointed forecast, with growth found to have halved from 0.6% to 0.3% on the quarter. This gave investors fresh incentive to sell out of the Euro on Tuesday as confidence in the outlook…(read more)

Pound News: Brexit Divisions Continue to Limit GBP Exchange Rates As Theresa May reiterated a commitment to leaving the customs union, following reports that the UK could remain a member for some years to come, the mood towards the Pound (GBP) deteriorated sharply. With the cabinet still appearing quite sharply divided over the likely future…(read more)

Pound News: GBP Suffers Following Broadbent Comments The Pound (GBP) found itself on the back foot against the majority of its peers on Wednesday as markets reacted to comments from Bank of England (BoE) Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent. Speaking to the Telegraph Broadbent warned slowing productivity meant the UK economy is entering a ‘menopausal’ era,…(read more)