By Alex Ellis

The Bank of England announced yesterday that interest rates would be kept on hold at 0.5% for the foreseeable future as well as announcing that there would be no further extension to the Quantitative Easing programme in the month of January. Historically any extension to the QE programme has caused massive losses for Sterling and therefore the pound showed slight strength towards the end of the day.

 Meanwhile the pound hit a 25 year low against the Australian Dollar yesterday, as strong Australian Retail figures increased the chances of an interest rate increase in February. This doesn’t bode well for the future of GBP/AUD exchange rates and for those looking to purchase some Australian Dollars it is worth speaking to a currency broker sooner rather than later to see what tools are available to combat the exchange rates.

 The most notable data today is the Non-Farm Payroll data released in America; this data is seen as reflective of the overall economy in America. The prediction is that 8,000 jobs will have been lost over the course of December and therefore this will cause volatility within the market even if there is some deviation from the prediction.

In order to ensure that you maximise your savings when conducting a currency purchase it is worth contacting a currency broker who can update you on current currency market movement and inform you of any future factors that will influence exchange rates.