The British currency had a favorable performance today versus multiple

key-currencies today, beating the euro and the Swiss franc as the country starts to show more evident signs of recovery, attracting investors back to the U.K.

After inflation surpassed analysts estimates and Bank of England’s target today, the pound gained considerably versus most of the main traded currencies, specially versus the euro, as Greece’s budget deficit is still affecting the currency’s outlook, and ths Swiss franc, which had a rally halted as fears of interventions from the nation’s central bank emerged.

EUR/GBP slid to 0.8727 as of 23:41 GMT from a previous rate of 0.8785 yesterday.

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The U.K. currency profited today from an increase in the nation’s house prices, fueling even further speculations that the recession might be ending in Britain, attracting investors to purchase

pound-priced assets in a day of bullish equities markets in London.

In a day of predominant risk appetite as commodities and equities advanced in the U.K., the pound profited from an optimistic scenario in the country as Rightmove Plc, a leading British real estate website, indicated that house prices increased last month, adding evidences for speculations that Bank of England’s current asset purchase program may expire next month and not be extended further, which would certainly allow the pound to climb in foreign-exchange markets. The euro posted a slight decline versus the sterling as traders remained skeptical regarding Greece’s budget deficit and the European Central Bank’s capability of rescuing the Southern European nation from a financial collapse.

Several analysts believe that the pound may outperform multiple key-currencies in foreign-exchange markets this year, as the recession fades away and according to some speculations, the country’s currency would be undervalued. If positive data continues to be published the pound may experience a sharp rally, specially versus a less attractive euro in the following weeks.

EUR/GBP traded at 0.8803 as of 16:14 GMT from an opening rate of 0.8821 when markets opened yesterday. GBP/USD climbed to 1.6333 from 1.6258.

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The U.K. currency may be experience a shift on its sentiment as speculations suggest that the current quantitative easing measures used by the nation’s central bank will be terminated, as the country starts to publish positive economic reports, suggesting that the recession may be ending in the British Isles.

This week will be decisive for the pound as inflation yearly numbers are due to be published the next Tuesday, and if forecasts will be confirmed, the numbers are expected to surpass Bank of England’s target below 2 percent for the first time in seven months, fueling even further speculations that quantitative easing measures will be lifted in the U.K. anytime soon this year. The 200 billion pounds used for bond purchasing will have their last part of 25 billion to be used by early February, and the next central bankers’ meeting may already bring better news for the sterling if the country’s monetary policy change its direction.

The pound has been suffering from an insistent recession combined with a struggling financial system and ineffective policies taken by the Bank of England to combat the crisis, but as economic data improves, the pound may advance considerably, since it was one of the currencies who lost the most among the main traded ones in foreign-exchange markets last year.

GBP/USD traded at 1.6277 as of 02:20 GMT from a previous rate of 1.6256 when markets closed last Friday.

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The dollar had a mediocre performance today losing versus a considerable number of currencies after the nation’s central bank was not so optimistic regarding the U.S. economy recovery, declining appeal for the greenback.

The dollar posted a disappointing performance in a day were equities and commodities markets increased appeal for higher-yielding currencies. The British pound posted another advance versus the greenback as Bank of England’s policy markers signaled that interest rates in the U.K. are due to be hiked at some point this year. The Federal Reserve stated that a modest economic recovery is taking place in the U.S., fact which traders interpret as a delay in forecasts of interest rate raises, which is certainly declining the attractiveness that fueled a dollar rally versus most of the main traded currencies in December.

As speculations of immediate rate hikes fade away in the U.S., the greenback rates will be more determined by the pace of recovery in the country compared to other economic regions throughout the world, specially in Europe and Asia, where the main U.S. trading partners are located.

EUR/USD traded at 1.4506 as of 20:57 GMT from a previous intraday rate of 1.4480 yesterday, in a session of high volatility for the currency pair. GBP/USD trded at 1.6286 from 1.6171.

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The United Kingdom has been showing itself as one of the least resilient nations among the wealthiest countries in the world, and its weak economic data combined with a ineffective monetary policy is likely to set the sterling further down in the first semester of 2010, specially versus

higher-yielding options

Bank of England policy makers insisted to extend its so far frustrated bond purchase strategy, injecting its remaining 200 billion pounds on the program, as interest rates remain at an all-time record low of 0.50 percent, maintaining the pound’s outlook negative, specially as the traders started the year with high levels of risk appetite. Commodities linked currencies like the Australian and the Canadian dollar are likely to rally further versus the pound this year, and demand for energy is likely to favor these oil producer’s currencies, specially for Canada’s currency, as the winter in the Northern Hemisphere has been one of severest in the past year, increasing demand for energy in the United States.

This week will be marked by a monthly manufacturing production report in the U.K., which has provided mixed data in the past months, but nevertheless, as analysts aren’t very optimistic regarding British economic growth in the first quarter of 2010, the pound has considerable odds to lose further versus the currencies above mentioned.

GBP/CAD started this week trading at 1.6495 from as high as 1.6850 one week ago.

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The U.S. currency was performing quite well during most of this week’s session as optimism regarding the U.S. economy was high, but the employment data published on Friday forced the greenback down versus most of the main traded currencies, as figures came much below forecasts.

The dollar posted the biggest weekly in two months as a non-farm payrolls report indicated more jobs cuts than expected, frustrating forecasts and declining odds that the Federal Reserve will lift stimulus and start a series of interest rate hikes that would happen sooner-than-expected, as some speculations suggested, if the economy accelerated at a faster pace. Among the most important traded currencies, U.K.’s pound was the only not able to beat the dollar, as the recession in the U.K. continues a reality, with quantitative measures used by the Bank of England being ineffective so far and the parliament failing to reach a consensus regarding the nation’s budget deficit.

Analysts were frustrated as this week’s U.S. data didn’t meet their expectations, and traders sold dollar positions after the non-farm payrolls report were published, considering that the greenback had been trading high during most of the week as optimism was intense. Next week will provide a monthly retail sales report, which will be the next key-report to determine the dollar’s trends.

EUR/USD closed the week at 1.4408 after being traded around the 1.4300 level before the payrolls report came to public this Friday.

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The pound edged higher, achieving its biggest weekly advance against the euro since January, as signs pointed to the UK economic recovery talking hold.

• The pound/euro pairing was little changed at the end of last week, though sterling did creep up, supported by reports showing gains in consumer confidence and UK house prices.
• Month-on-month property prices were up for the sixth consecutive month in October and were 2% higher than in the same month the previous year. However, the pace of monthly price rises has eased, going up by just 0.4%.
• Meanwhile in the eurozone, data revealed that the unemployment rate rose to 9.7%, in line with market expectations, which raised concerns that recovery could still be destabilised, dulling demand for the euro.
• Last week the Bank of England completed its £175 billion asset purchase programme and so investors are now looking toward an extension of QE in their meeting this week.
• Analysts have noted that until the market is confident the BOE is done with quantitative easing, it is going to be very difficult for sterling to rally significantly from current levels.

The pound continued to rally yesterday and is now poised to snap a three-month decline versus the euro, as the UK showed positive economic signals.

• Data from the Bank of England revealed that UK net consumer lending rose less than expected in September but the number of loans approved for house purchases did hit its highest level in 18- months.
• Mortgage approvals rose to 56,215 from a revised 52,970 in August, which is the highest level of approvals since February last year and marks a solid recovery from September 2008 when only 33,419 mortgages were approved.
• The more positive data saw traders trimming excessive short positions in the pound, enabling the UK currency to briefly extend gains over 1.12, and suggesting that the markets may have overreacted to the surprisingly weak GDP data last week.
• Analysts noted that the UK currency also benefited as the euro fought to stem its broad slide this week, as traders saw the slump in global equities earlier in the week as a sign to sell the single currency.

The pound was broadly sold on Friday following a weak GDP figure, losing three cents to the kiwi dollar, to close back down at 2.1607.

• Data revealed that Britain’s economy has now shrunk for six quarters after it contracted by 0.4% in the most recent quarter, the longest period of contraction since records began in 1955.
• Analysts have now renewed their discussion over the possibility of the Bank of England retaining, or even extending, its £175 billion QE programme, which would compound sterling’s weakness.
• The news also confirmed that the BoE are likely to keep the benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.5% firmly into 2010, lessening the appeal of sterling assets.
• In response, the markets took the kiwi nearer its multi-year highs hit earlier this month, and this trend has continued in trading this morning as investors continue to take their lead from Friday’s data.

Sterling lost three cents (1.9%) to the dollar, as a weak UK quarterly GDP figure abruptly halted the pound’s recent rally.

• The greenback gained the most daily value against the pound in a month as the UK’s economy unexpectedly contracted in the third quarter, giving the Bank of England more reason to expand emergency measures to spur growth.
• It is the first time UK gross domestic product has contracted for six consecutive quarters, since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955.
• The pound fell more than a cent against the US dollar following the release of the figures, losing 0.6% in two minutes, with traders particularly concerned that the UK may turn out to be the only major economy still in recession.
• The unexpected decline in the services sector was the key factor behind the drop. The UK economy’s reliance on the service sector, and financial services in particular, may be the reason why it is still in recession when partners such as France and Germany exited earlier in the year.
• This suggests that the likelihood of an expansion in quantitative easing by £50bn or so over the next quarter is rising, which will put further pressure on the pound.

In an uncertain day for the UK economy, the pound lost as much as 2.0% to the euro on Friday, sharply reversing its recent rally to close down at 1.0862.

• Data revealed that the UK economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.4% between July and September this year, confirming that the UK is still in recession.
• Quarterly growth of 0.2% had been expected, although expectations had been tempered by recent figures showing no growth in retail sales in September and a 2.5% decline in industrial output in August.
• Importantly, the disappointing GDP figures may now lead the Bank of England to consider the possibility of extending their asset purchase scheme in their November meeting in order to sustain the evidently fragile recovery.
• Recent comments from policymakers had led markets to believe that the UK would be tightening monetary policies, however the tone is likely to be quite different following Friday’s GDP figure.
• In trading this morning, the pound remains under pressure with investors continuing to sell the UK currency following last week’s disappointing data.

Data this morning has run significantly against market expectations, confirming that Britain is still in a recession. The UK’s third quarter GDP figure was revealed to be a 0.4% contraction, which now means that the UK has suffered 6 consecutive quarters of negative growth. Market participants had speculated that the UK economy would grow by 0.2% in the months from July to September and had taken the pound slightly higher this morning.

There has been data recently though that points to this disappointing figure. Data in early Ocotber revealed that manufacturing production had fallen by 1.9%, significantly below forecast and this has clearly weighed heavily on overall output. In addition, yesterday’s UK retail sales figures, showed that there was no growth in High Street activity in September, which was a further warning that the economy may not yet be expanding.

Investors will now be looking ahead to the Bank of England’s next policy meeting on the 5th November, where the members will have to seriously consider the possibility of extending their asset purchase scheme. Recently, we have seen G20 countries preparing to make steps to remove monetary stimulus measures as the global recovery strengthens, however the BoE still clearly has a long way to go before such steps can be taken. Even dovish market participants were not expecting Britain’s economy to have contracted by as much as 0.4%, a figure that truly underlines the fragility of the recovery.

As the news was reported, the pound dropped a full percent against both the euro and the dollar, as investors hurried to sell their sterling. Looking to the short and even medium term, the UK currency will remain under heavy selling pressure, with confidence in the economy shot. That we are still in a recession and with the possibility of further QE now back on the horizon, investors will see little hope of an interest rate rise in Britain even into 2010, which will heavily on the value of sterling.

A broadly stronger pound hit a two-week high against the aussie, briefly rising over 1.8000, as confidence in the UK economy gained momentum.

• Sterling jumped following the minutes from the Bank of England’s latest policy meeting, which dampened expectations of an extension to quantitative easing.
• The minutes appeared to move the balance of market expectations to the possibility of a pause of the government’s asset purchase scheme in November, reversing recent speculation.
• In addition, the aussie dollar found its strength undermined as commodity prices, most notably oil, turned lower, discouraging investors from the higher-yielding currency.
• In trading this morning the pound has continued to advance, reaching back over 1.80, as investors cut long positions in the “riskier” currency after Chinese data dashed expectations of some who were betting on a positive surprise.
• The most significant figure, the Chinese 3rd quarter GDP, revealed a growth rate of 8.9%, bang in line with expectations, however there had been hopes of over 9.0%.

Dollar selling in the market was stepped up with investors moving into the pound as the MPC minutes proved more positive than expected.

• The pound climbed over 1.66, posting a two and half cent gain against the dollar as the minutes from the Bank of England’s October monetary policy meeting struck a less dovish tone than recent comments suggested.
• Analysts said the most important story within the release was the fact that in the September meeting, governor Mervyn King thought an expansion of the central bank’s quantitative easing programme could be justified. But there was no mention of that in this latest meeting.
• Additionally, the pound was given further support after Mr King said in an opinion piece in Scotland’s Herald newspaper that, “it would be wise to take account” of the prospect of higher interest rates, heightening confidence in the UK economy.
• The dollar is up slightly in morning trading as a raft of Chinese data, though positive, failed to offer any major surprises, gaining in line with market expectations.

Sterling dipped slightly against the single currency, relinquishing gains in the afternoon as US equities slipped back, closing the day down just 0.1% at 1.0958.

• In early trading, investors picked up on comments from the ECB President who added to remarks from other eurozone officials expressing worries about the strength of the single currency.
• In response the markets took the euro slightly lower, enabling the pound to reach up over 1.10, near Monday’s 3-week high.
• In addition, the pound gained slight support after the UK public spending deficit in September fell short of market expectations, buoying investor sentiment.
• However, the euro trimmed its losses in the afternoon as global equities turned negative and investors cautioned over taking long positions ahead of a speech by Bank of England Governor Mervyn King in the evening.
• In trading today, the pound has broadly strenghtned as the MPC minutes from their latest meeting sounded a relatively positive tone. Currently the UK currency is trading one percent up on the single currency, approaching €1.11.