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By Alex Ellis

Sterling exchange rates may suffer once December’s retail sales figures are released, predictions show that the adverse weather conditions will have massively affected the retail sales in what should have been the busiest month of the year for the retail sector. This in turn could affect the economy so it is worth keeping an eye out for the impact of this release nearer the time, in order to do this speak to a currency broker who can ensure you are well informed beforehand.

In terms of data releases this week will be fairly quiet with only a few pieces of data due for the UK, the majority of which concerns the mortgage approvals for the UK in December. The housing market is still fairly sluggish and we could therefore see approvals affected. In order to discover the impact of these releases use Currency Line to contact an experienced currency broker who can ensure you are well informed and have a number of tools to protect your position.

By Alex Ellis

Looking ahead to next year there are 3 main factors that I believe will influence sterling exchange rates:

1. The Coalition’s austerity measures – these budget cuts are some of the most severe that the UK has ever witnessed and we could therefore see sterling weakness as a result. As unemployment is likely to rise following the cuts and VAT is set to increase we may see consumer spending affected.

2. Rising Inflation – this is a big issue because if inflation spirals out of control then the economy is much too fragile to be able to cope, until we can categorically see some significant growth. Usually the government would raise interest rates to tackle inflation but they are not able to in the present climate and therefore they remain stuck between a rock and a hard place.

3. Another issue for the pound is the exposure to the debt crisis within the Euro zone and this could escalate into a real problem if any further economies fall into a similar category as Greece and Ireland. I would expect that if this were to happen GBP/EUR exchange rates would suffer as a result.

As a currency broker we have a number of contract options which can be tailored to suit individual client needs and ensure that you minimise both your risk and are well informed before committing to an exchange rates. Currency Brokers’ exchange rates can be over 4% better than a high street bank, on a £100,000 currency exchange this equates to a saving of around £4000.

By Alex Ellis

UK GDP was revised downwards this morning from a previous of 0.8% to 0.7%, although this difference is marginal we have seen sterling suffer as a result. This could be the norm in the run up to Christmas as we could see retail sales figures suffer due to the adverse weather conditions when they are released. Obviously the Christmas period is supposedly the busiest time for the retail sector however predictions are that sales will be greatly impacted as people struggle to make it to work.

Looking in the longer term the Coalition budget cuts and austerity measures are due to come into play in the New Year as well as VAT rising to 20% all of these should cause the UK economy and ultimately the pound to stutter, therefore you may want to consider forward buying to protect your position and ensure you don’t risk losing thousands – December historically sees large drops in the exchange rates and this can be as much as 4% or a difference of £8,000 on a £200k currency conversion.

If you are looking at currency exchange or sending money overseas then an experienced currency broker can ensure that you are both well informed and minimising any risk when exchanging.

By Alex Ellis

On Monday RightMove released house price data and this showed that house prices increased by just 0.3% in the last month whereas this time last year the increase was 1.4%. The UK relies heavily on housing as both an indcator and boost for the general economy and therefore this release sent shock waves through the currency market for sterling.

Also released on Monday was a report from the Bank of England which stated that UK banks were hampering growth by not lending enough, this is something that the banks have consistently denied but if they are not lending then this completely defeats the purpose of the QE programme.

UK Retail sales are due to be released today at 09:30 AM an these account for 60% of the UK’s GDP therefore this will be very important for GBP exchange rates, use our contact us form to check the impact of this release.

By Alex Ellis

Sterling has lost around across the board today as Inflation figures were released higher than expected, this would normally be seen as a positive for the currency however investors seemed to cash in on the high and sold their positions therefore causing the pound to weaken. Looking ahead the future for sterling is beginning to look bleak and investors are starting to recognise this.

VAT is due to rise in January, more cival unrest and increased pressure on the coalition government all are not painting a positive picture for the future of the currency.

If you have an upcoming currency exchange then you will want to ensure that you are well informed and by contacting a currency broker you can be made aware of any upcoming data releases which may impact the value of your conversion. Currency brokers also have a numbers of tools and contract options at their disposal to ensure that your position is constantly protected.