www.currencyline.co.uk

By Alex Ellis

This morning has seen Sterling rally against the major currencies on the back of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors claiming that the net balance of surveyors reporting house prices increasing had risen to 35% up from 34% from the previous month. This has caused Sterling Exchange rates to rise and we are seeing the highest GBP/ EUR exchange rates for at least a month, for those looking to buy Euros this is extremely positive news.

This spike could be short lived however as at 9:30 (GMT) today the Office of National Statistics will release the Consumer Price Index data, the CPI is seen as a key method of measuring inflation and changes in purchasing trends and in turn this is seen as showing the true state of the economy.

If you want to take advantage of these extraordinary exchange rates then contact a currency broker who will be able to assist you with your currency requirements when sending money overseas.

By Alex Ellis

At 12:00 (GMT) the Rightmove House price data was released, this is seen as showing the general strength of the U.K. housing market, and this relates to the overall economy as house prices correlate to the state of the economy. This data was much worse than expected and has caused Sterling to lose ground against all of the major currencies this morning; the data showed that house prices has fallen 2.2% in December but were 1.7% higher on the year. From this data release we can see that the economy remains fragile and therefore will have an impacting effect on exchange rates, in order to avoid losing money when buying Foreign Currency, be sure to contact an experienced currency broker who can guide you through the process.

For those looking to purchase AUD it may be worth keeping a watchful eye on the currency market today, as tomorrow sees the Reserve bank of Australia release the minutes from their committee meeting two weeks ago. Their past three meetings have seen them announce interest rate rises, so it is possible that this latest committee meeting will see the announcement of a fourth interest rate rise. This will be seen as a positive for those looking to sell Australian Dollars but for those looking to purchase AUD this will have a significant effect on exchange rates as it will cause Sterling to weaken.

By Alex Ellis

Yesterday saw Alastair Darling address the House of Commons with his pre-budget report, during the initial stages of the report the pound grew slightly stronger on the back of the news there would be no windfall tax on bank profits. However as the address continued the pound lost strength as a rise in National Insurance, Value Added Tax and a tax on bank bonuses were announced. Darling also admitted that his growth predictions for the U.K. economy in 2009 had been drastically wrong, this was seen as a negative for the pound as in reality he is in the best position to predict such figures.

In other currency news the New Zealand interest decision was announced yesterday at 20:00 (GMT), the decision was to keep the interest levels on hold at 2.5%, this should mean that NZD will gain strength. In the early hours of this morning Australia announced that unemployment levels had decreased to 5.7% this was seen as a positive for the AUD as it shows signs of a healthy economy.

During the course of today there will a number of data release that will affect the currency market; the most notable of which will be released at 12:00 (GMT), the Bank of England will announce their interest rate decision, the prediction for this is that the BOE will keep interest rates on hold at 0.5%. However some analysts believe that a further £20billion will be pumped into the economy, this will be seen as a massive negative for the pound, and could make Sterling Exchange Rates extremely volatile.

Exchange rates have been especially volatile in recent times and towards the end of the year they tend to continue this trend, this will make sending money overseas especially expensive, and in order to ensure you buy currency at the best possible time keep in contact with an experienced currency broker.

By Alex Ellis

Sterling has experienced gradual gains in the last few weeks, however yesterday, GBP lost ground against the entire spectrum of major currencies; The Euro, Us Dollar, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar and South African Rand.

One explanation of this is what has been termed the ‘Currency Compass,’ which outlines the factors that influence the market. These four factors are: Political Certainty, Economic Stability, Acts of Terror and Acts of God. Currently three of these factors are influencing the Pound; the only one which isn’t being Acts of Terror.

Today there are a number of data releases that could impact the market; this could make the market especially volatile. In order to ensure you reduce the risk when transferring money abroad, contact an experienced currency specialist who will aid you through the process.

The most influential data release for the U.K. will be the mortgage approvals released today at 9:30AM. This will show how the housing sector is fairing in this economic crisis and if data is not as expected could impact Sterling Exchange Rates.

By Tom Higham

The Pound has had a good day in the currency markets today with gains of over two and a half cents against the US Dollar, two cents against both the New Zealand and Australian Dollar and over one and a half cents against the Euro. The Pound strengthened today on news that the Bank of England may not extend the Quantitative Easing programme and as a result showed the biggest one day gains against a basket of currencies . This has resulted in some very good buying opportunities if you are selling Sterling.