Currency Line» Stephen Hughes

Exchange rates sliding

Stephen Hughes — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:08:18 +0000

Sterling continued it’s bad run against a whole host of major currencies again yesterday as anticipation and rumours start to build prior to Thursday’s Bank of England interest rate decision.

The Bank of England’s minutes from the August meeting suggested that a couple of MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) members would be in favour of increasing the volume of quantitative easing by a further £25 billion and this number may have increased following weekend announcement from the BCC (British Chamber of Commerce) that the UK economy although showing signs of recovery has a grim outlook with a significant chance of relapse.

Should they choose to pump more money into the economy I think it would be a significant blow to Sterling’s fragile state at a time when other economies cush as France, Germany and Australia are announcing that they are alreasy coming out of their own recessions.

This could well lead to further Sterling weakness, so if you have upcoming currency transactions it may be prudent to consider your options sooner rather than later, as although many major analysts believe that Sterling is currently und

This weeks economic data releases

Stephen Hughes — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:43:59 +0000

As you may or may not be aware, the release of economic data and / or sentiment is one of the 4 points of the currency compass; the others being political instability, acts of terrorism and acts of God.

This week we have a range of data from all corners of the world, here are the main ones to keep an eye out for:

27th July, 7am - UK Nationwide house price data.
27th July, 3pm – US New home sales
27th / 28th July, 11pm – US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke speech
28th July, 4am – Australia RBA Business Confidence
2th July, 1am – Japanese retail sales data.

For more insight into how these releases may affect the currency you need to buy and for a range of ways to protect yourself against adverse market movement fill in the form under the currency tab and we will get an experienced currency broker to call you back for a free consultation.s leading financial institutions

What might affect exchange rates today

Stephen Hughes — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:33:56 +0000

UK – 9.30 Bank of England munites released from it’s most recent meeting.

UK – 11.00 CBI (Confederation of British Inustry) industrial trends survey

CAD – 13.30 Retail sales figures released

US / EUR – 21.00 ECB member Noyer speaks in Philadelphia

Also the Bank of England is expected to purchase £2.25bn of gilts sometime tody

UK economy shrinking more than first thought

Stephen Hughes — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:30:14 +0000

It has been predicted that the UK economy will shrink by 4.5% this year, well in excess of the official Government figure of 3.5% and a figure that would be the single biggest fall since 1945.

The risk of the current financial crisis deepening is still concerning for the UK economy and this has caused the Pound to lose ground recently against both the Euro and the Dollar.

Any further signs of economic doom and gloom could see these recent losses be quickly added to so it may be worth speaking to your currency broker early this week and seriously consider the benefits of a forward contract.

Exchange rate forecast

Stephen Hughes — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:13:40 +0000

The market seems to be waiting for confirmation as to whether or not the Bank of England will continue it’s programme of quantitative easing.

Sterling seemed to gain strength after the MPC interest rate decision last week when it was announced there would be no increase to the £125 billion worth of “printed money”. But this positivity seemed to fall away fall away Wednesday when BofE Deputy Governor Charles Bean stressed that the bank was not ending the programme.

Keep an eye out for any more news regarding this situation as it is having a major influence on Sterling adn the direction of exchange rates.