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.
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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
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The single currency slipped back on Friday following weak Bank of America earnings
Posted by admin on October 19th, 2009
The US currency snapped a four-day losing streak against the euro, rising from a 14-month low, as investors cautioned their risk activity following further corporate earnings reports. The dollar strengthened as Bank of America earnings fell short of expectations, sparking profit taking in the euro, as well as higher-yielding currencies. The Bank reported losses of $1 billion in the third quarter, which sent equity markets down having rallied on the more positive earnings of other major US banks and corporations earlier in the week. This report aided the dollar, strengthening haven appeal and bringing the US currency up from multi-month lows against the euro.
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.
Pound is rallying against the kiwi dollar as investors book profits ahead of the weekend
Posted by admin on October 16th, 2009
The pound achieved a ten-day high against the kiwi yesterday, as bullish comments combined with profit taking to bring the UK currency off multi-month lows. The UK currency was buoyed by comments that quantitative easing is in fact having its desired effect and that the MPC may not need to extend QE in their next meeting as many has speculated they would. The news triggered a wave of profit taking, pushing the sterling/kiwi price up two and half cents on the day to close at 2.1849. There was positive news from the US yesterday in the form of corporate earnings, in particular, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, but the rise in risk appetite failed to assist the higher-yielding currency as investors chose instead to lock in profits. The pound has extended its climb in trading this morning, currently edging back over 2.19 as investors continue to profits ahead of the weekend.
Sterling has picked itself up from multi-year lows against the kiwi, buoyed by improving economic sentiment
Posted by admin on October 15th, 2009
The pound was able to reverse a four day slide against the kiwi yesterday, following positive data in the UK labour market. Figures showed that fewer than expected Britons claimed for unemployment benefit month-on-month in September, and the overall unemployment rate held steady at 7.9%, beating market expectations of a rise to 8.0%. The kiwi also suffered after some investors turned bearish following weak US retail sales, which fell in September by the largest amount in 2009, driven by a fall in car sales at the end of the country’s scrappage scheme.
Aussie edged higher vs the pound again yesterday, but sterling has rebounded following upbeat comments from a BoE policymaker
Posted by admin on October 15th, 2009
The aussie edged higher yesterday as continued strong demand for the high-yielding currency offset positive employment data in the UK. The UK currency found early support following better-than-expected employment data that revealed the rate of people claiming benefit allowance was declining.However, the news was unable to buoy a broadly weaker pound, with investors continuing to be attracted by the recent rate rise and general positive sentiment surrounding the Australian economy. The aussie also took advantage of rallying equity markets, which took their lead from better-than-expected quarterly earnings at JP Morgan reinforcing the notion that economic conditions are improving.
Bearish sentiment towards the pound prevailed yesterday, but the sterling is rallying strongly against the euro today
Posted by admin on October 15th, 2009
The pound relinquished early gains against the single currency, closing marginally down at 1.0704 as rising risk appetite benefited the euro. Sterling initially rose against the single currency yesterday after data showed a smaller than expected rise in the number of UK jobless claiming benefits, and the overall unemployment rate unexpectedly held at 7.9%. This data prompted investors to further pare back some of the heavy bets built up against sterling in recent weeks, which have pushed the price to multi-month lows. In addition, some analysts have said that speculation over an extension of quantitative easing could be overdone, and that the pound / euro price could have correction potential.
The kiwi dollar continues to climb as expectations of a rate rise strenghten
Posted by admin on October 14th, 2009
Once again sterling edged downward against the kiwi yesterday, though it picked itself up significantly from an intra-day low below 2.13, to close at 2.1534. The pound dropped in early trading after a business group said the Bank of England should expand its asset-purchase programme and the inflation rate slowed more than forecast. UK annual consumer price inflation slumped to its weakest rate in seven years in September, underlining the likelihood that the Bank of England will need to maintain loose policy for an extended period.However, investors took the opportunity to cash in profits in the afternoon, buying back into the pound, enabling the sterling price to rally.
The aussie stumbled yesterday, enabling the pound to gain as investors took profits
Posted by admin on October 14th, 2009
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.
The single currency is pushing up towards 1.49 against the dollar as risk appetite firms
Posted by admin on October 14th, 2009
The single currency reached a 14-month high of 1.4874 against the greenback yesterday, advancing over a cent, as investors refocused on the outlook for US interest rates.In early trading, the single currency suffered a setback as the German ZEW Economic Sentiment index dropped to 56.0 from 57.7 in September, its first fall in three months. However, the dip provided a good buying opportunity for a market that remains broadly bearish on the dollar, allowing the euro to push higher. Analysts also noted that the weakness of the dollar was due in part to comments from a Japanese Ministry of Finance official, which reiterated the recent stance to accept the onging strength of the yen.
The kiwi continues to climb vs sterling following strong retail sales data in NZ
Posted by admin on October 13th, 2009
The pound edged lower against the kiwi dollar yesterday as investors continued to shift their funds into high-yielding currencies, with the pair closing at 2.1542. Commodity and equity markets rallied higher yesterday, including a rise of nearly a percent in the Nikkei 225 and the Shanghai Composite, which maintained strong demand for the kiwi. Selling pressure on the pound also remained high following a report that cast doubts over the pace of the UK economic recovery, stating that interest rate rises would lag those of other major economies. In trading this morning, the pound has shed a further two cents against the kiwi following a surprise jump in New Zealand retail sales for August.
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.
Euro advanced against the greenback, buoyed by a relatively upbeat ECB rate statement
Posted by admin on October 9th, 2009
The single currency climbed to a two week high of 1.4815 yesterday as investors continued to sell the dollar to fund riskier trades. The single currency returned to its recent upward trend, initially climbing half a percent, as investors took up dollar selling in the wake of further evidence of global economic recovery. Australian employment data revealed a rise in jobs in September, reinforcing risk appetite and triggering broad dollar selling as its haven appeal weakened. The single currency held its gains in the afternoon after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged at a record low 1.0%, as the market expected.
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The pound made further ground against the US dollar on Friday, buoyed by positive market sentiment
Sterling extended sharp gains against the dollar, as traders cut short pound positions after many reckoned earlier bets against the currency were overdone. Sterling found support following further upbeat comments from a BoE member concerning the quantitative easing programme. Sterling reached up to a three-week high against the dollar, peaking just below 1.64 before closing the week at $1.6353. Initially sterling trimmed its position after sterling/dollar stop-loss orders were triggered at $1.6300, but some analysts noted that the pound would continue to be supported as investors had taken up fresh long positions in sterling and were willing to hold onto them.
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