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%.
Posts Tagged ‘Boe’
Pound edged up slightly against the euro on Friday but is down around 0.7% in trading this morning
Posted by admin on November 2nd, 2009
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Falling global equities enabled the pound to post gains against the euro
Posted by admin on October 29th, 2009
The pound continued to advance against a broadly weaker single currency yesterday, hitting a six-week high of 1.1167 as investors trimmed their euro holdings.Preliminary CPI data from Germany revealed that consumer prices remained flat on the year in October. Monthly data showed that the index did rise by 0.1% in October from September, though this rise failed to garner support for the euro.The markets also saw a slight withdrawal of risk activity yesterday as weak housing data in the US renewed concern over the health of the global recovery.The data dragged European equities down to three-week lows, which appeared to impact more severely on the single-currency, enabling the pound to gain.This morning, the pound is consolidating its position above 1.1100, with analysts reiterating that sterling is likely to remain in a holding pattern until next week’s BoE asset purchase decision.Investors are cautious amid uncertainty over whether the Central Bank will extend their quantitative easing programme, and so sterling movements may continue to be dictated by risk appetite in over the coming days.
The pound rebounded strongly vs the euro yesterday with analysts suspecting that sterling could be oversold
Posted by admin on October 27th, 2009
After an unsteady early session, the pound rebounded strongly from Friday’s sell off, to close 1.1% up. The pound recovered steadily through the day after data revealed that the German Gfk consumer sentiment indicator dropped to 4.0 from 4.2 in October, weaker than the median forecast of 4.5, dulling demand for the single currency.In addition UK business confidence rose to the highest in 18 months, according to a third-quarter survey, with 19% of executives polled saying the outlook for business is “good” or “very good,” up from 9% in the previous quarter, which stoked demand for the pound.Analysts hypothesised that the pound may be considerably oversold at its current value, which does present a good opportunity for British businesses.Analysts also noted two opposing arguments developing: the first is a widely held view that based on better PMI survey data there is a good chance that GDP data for Q3 will be revised up.
Sterling halted its recent rally and is slipping back sharply against the kiwi as UK GDP figure disappoints
Posted by admin on October 26th, 2009
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.
The kiwi edged higher against the pound but has weakened this morning following important Chinese data
Posted by admin on October 22nd, 2009
Having given up ground to the UK currency in early trading, the kiwi rallied steadily through the afternoon, to close marginally up at 2.1833. The pound found support yesterday after the BoE’s policy minutes revealed no direct discussion over further loosening the current monetary policy. In the wake of the news, sterling posted an intra-day high of 2.2074 as investors grew more confident in the outlook for the UK economy. However, the New Zealand dollar capped its losses as Alan Bollard, governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, in a speech appeared surprisingly reserved over the recent appreciation of the kiwi dollar.
Sterling made substantial ground on the dollar yesterday as the BoE showed no sign of loosening montary policy further
Posted by admin on October 22nd, 2009
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.
The pound posted a one cent gain against the euro yesterday, buoyed by the MPC minutes
Posted by admin on October 22nd, 2009
Sterling reached a one-month high against the single currency, rallying strongly as the BoE’s latest policy meeting made no mention of further QE.The MPC minutes gave substantial support to the pound, which advanced 1.1% to reach a high of 1.1112, after they sounded a more positive tone than recent statements from policymakers suggested. It was revealed that the nine member committee had voted unanimously to leave the size of its asset purchase scheme unchanged at £175 billion, as had been widely expected, and made no direct reference to extending QE in the future.
Having held steady in trading yesterday, the pound has slipped back this morning as equity markets stumble
Posted by admin on October 20th, 2009
Sterling suffered early losses against the euro yesterday after a BoE member hinted that the QE programme should be extended, but the pound recovered to close the day on level footing. Adam Posen stated that the central bank should continue its quantitative easing programme as the financial system has yet to show signs of a sustained recovery. He added that he was unconcerned about the possibility of further monetary stimulus risking a rise in inflation. His comments appeared to eclipse positive house price data from property website Rightmove, which showed that asking prices for homes in England and Wales were up on an annual basis for the first time in more than a year in October.
Sterling traded strongly at the end of last week against the kiwi but has slipped back sharply this morning
Posted by admin on October 19th, 2009
Sterling managed to close last week at a near two-week high of 2.2056 against kiwi, as the UK currency continued to build on support from a BoE official. The ailing pound managed to build on Thursday’s gains, rallying a further 1.2% against the kiwi on Friday, in the wake of a Bank of England policy maker signaling satisfaction with the impact of the central bank’s quantitative-easing strategy. Investors took the opportunity to take strong profits that had been built up earlier last week, taking the sterling / kiwi price back over 2.20.
Profit taking ahead of the weekend allowed the pound to make further ground against the aussie on Friday
Posted by admin on October 19th, 2009
Sterling maintained its rally as investors continued to lock in profits ahead of the weekend, with the price closing the day at 1.7839. Having climbed to multi-year highs against the pound earlier last week, positive comments from members of the BoE concerning the quantitative easing programme triggered an opportunity amongst investors to take profit, driving the price higher. Comments on Friday were made that stated the asset purchase scheme is having its desired effect on the UK economy, dulling concerns about the possibility of a further expansion. There was also a slight pull back in demand for the higher-yielding aussie following a weak earnings report from the Bank of America, which gave investors further cause to cash profits.
Sterling continued to rally at the end of last week, but has relinquished gains in trading this morning
Posted by admin on October 19th, 2009
Sterling’s rally against the euro persisted on Friday, albeit with slightly less momentum, with the price closing the week at 1.0971, up 0.8% on the day.Sterling’s volatile run continued with a modest climb at the end of last week, as investors squeezed what more they could out of a rally that is expected to fade. Comments from BoE member Paul Fisher breathed some life into the pound, which has come under heavy pressure in recent weeks, when he stated that the quantitative easing programme is having its desired effect. His remarks built on those of Charles Bean earlier in the week and were seen as a departure from the Bank’s hitherto-drab assessments of the UK recovery and relaxed opinion of sterling’s decline.
The pound/US dollar price is slowly rising as investors broadly sell the greenback
Posted by admin on October 14th, 2009
Having made early losses, the pound recovered ground in afternoon trading following positive comments from the BoE Deputy Governor, Charles Bean.The pound initially fell against the dollar after consumer prices last month rose 1.1%, down from 1.6% in August according to the Office for National Statistics, which was below the 1.3% prediction. Prime Minister Gordon Brown also said that government had to ensure that the recovery is not going to be derailed, suggesting that stimulus measures would not be removed anytime soon.However, in the afternoon, the pound rebounded strongly, following the words of Deputy Governor Bean who stated in a speech that the British economy has hit rock bottom and the worst fears of earlier in the year are unfounded. In addition there was a substantial return to dollar selling in the market, spurred by persistent expectations for low US interest rates, and investor appetite for high-yielding currencies.Sterling has continued to edge upwards in trading this morning, though unemployment data, which is released at 09:30BST and is forecast to reveal a higher claimant count, could hamper demand.
Sterling loses further ground to the dollar on specualtion of a further extension of QE
Posted by admin on October 13th, 2009
Traders continued to sell sterling yesterday, pushing the UK currency down to a five-month low against the dollar, eventually closing at 1.5797. The pound lost ground after an economics and business report forecast that sterling could fall as low as $1.40 against the dollar. The report found that interest rates in the UK were likely to remain at record lows for some time and would remain at just 2.0% until 2014, which would put the country’s yield well behind other major economies. Traders also continued to speculate that the Bank of England might increase the value of its quantitative easing policy beyond the current £175bn, in stark contrast to the prospect of similar special stimulus measures being wound down in other economies.
Demand for the kiwi remained strong yesterday, but it has lost ground in the wake of comments from Ben Bernanke
Posted by admin on October 9th, 2009
The pound edged down against the kiwi as rising risk appetite in the market offset the BoE’s decision to hold their monetary policy unchanged. Investors continued to buy into the higher-yielding New Zealand dollar, encouraged by rallying global equity markets and a broadly weaker dollar.In the UK, the BoE kept interest rates at 0.5% and decided against extending the quantitative easing programme as some had feared.However, the decision only gave the pound a muted boost against the kiwi, as investors had already priced the news into the market.In trading this morning, the kiwi has trimmed its gains as investors lock in some profits and as comments from the Fed Chairman suggested that the US may need to tighten monetary policy, spurring a slight return to the US dollar.However analysts have noted that overall market sentiment towards the kiwi is still pretty bullish, and that any upward movement for the pound is likely to be as a result of profit taking, rather than decreasing demand for kiwi assets.
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The aussie stumbled yesterday, enabling the pound to gain as investors took profits
The pound reversed a three-day slide against the aussie, posting gains of nearly a cent as investors took an opportunity to lock in profits.During the morning session, the pound continued to push multi-year lows, hitting a price of 1.7333, as weak inflation data reinforced concerns over the strength of the UK economic recovery. UK consumer prices fell to a five-year low of 1.1% in September, dipping below the market’s estimate of 1.3%, due in part to lower utility bills and food prices. In addition, demand for the aussie remained strong as traders continued to favour gold over the US dollar, pushing the price to an all-time high.
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