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.
Posts Tagged ‘Sterling’
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
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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.
Broad dollar weakness and an increase in demand for sterling has pushed the price back near $1.63
Posted by admin on October 16th, 2009
Sterling achieved a three-week high of 1.6297 against the dollar yesterday, supported by upbeat comments about the UK economy. The pound jumped nearly three cents, or 1.8%, against the dollar on speculation that policy makers will pause their asset-purchase programme next month as the economy shows signs of recovering from the recession. The Financial Times cited Bank of England Markets Director Paul Fisher as saying that the asset purchases scheme may be paused to give the central bank the option “of doing more later.” Analysts suggested that it appeared that the Bank of England was letting it be known in more forceful terms that it is not talking the pound down any longer.
Sterling has rallied strongly against the euro, pushing up over 1.09
Posted by admin on October 16th, 2009
Sterling strengthened as much as 2.2% to a ten-day high of 1.0936 against the euro yesterday, its biggest intra-day gain since Jan 30th.Sterling was able to post strong gains following bullish comments from a Bank of England policymaker who stated that quantitative easing is in fact working. MPC member Paul Fisher told the Financial Times he felt confident that the bank’s asset purchase programme was ‘having the scale and speed of impact that we would have hoped for when we started,’ back in March. Analysts said that the comments were perceived as lessening the chances that the central bank would expand its loose monetary policy at their next meeting in November, which to some extent, had already been priced into the market.
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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.
Sterling is making strong headway against a weakened dollar, advancing towards 1.62
Posted by admin on October 15th, 2009
Sterling made strong gains in early trading yesterday following better-than-expected employment data, but the price pulled back to close up 0.4% at $1.5980. The number of UK jobless claiming unemployment benefit rose by 20.8K in September, less than the forecast figure of 25.1K, and the smallest rise since May 2008, enabling the pound to post an intra-week high of $1.6022. The greenback also suffered from comments made on Tuesday evening from Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn, which supported speculation that the dollar downtrend will be broad and continuous for some time to come.However, the dollar trimmed its losses in the afternoon following a drop in sales figures.
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.
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.
Sterling slides further in the wake of a damning UK economic report
Posted by admin on October 13th, 2009
The pound maintained its downward trend yesterday, losing a further 0.6% as a British report cast doubts over UK recovery prospects. The outlook for global monetary policy shaped action on the foreign exchange markets on Monday, with sterling the main casualty. A report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research predicted that UK interest rates would remain at their historic low of 0.5% through 2010. The report also forecast they would stay below 2% until 2014. That would be likely to leave sterling the lowest-yielding major currency at a time when interest rates outside the UK look set to start rising, which added selling pressure to the fragile pound.
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Pound advanced vs a weakened dollar yesterday, supported too by a hold in the UK’s QE programme
Posted by admin on October 9th, 2009
The pound climbed just over a cent (0.6%) against the dollar, buoyed by the BoE’s decision to keep its assets purchase scheme on hold.In early trading sterling moved up against a broadly weak dollar, supported by expectations that the BoE would keep interest rates unchanged and maintain its current level of quantitative easing. The dollar also came under pressure, falling broadly as rising equity markets fuelled demand for riskier assets at the expense of the safe haven US currency. Dollar selling was led by positive employment data in Australia, which spurred investors to relinquish positions in the greenback in favour of higher-yield currencies, favouring an upward movement in the sterling/dollar pair.
The sterling/euro price closed relatively unchanged yesterday as both the MPC and ECB held rates.
Posted by admin on October 9th, 2009
Sterling was unable to build on Wednesday’s gains, as trading between the pair held steady following a relatively muted market response from the two interest rate statements.Yesterday morning, the pair remained tightly range bound as investors held back from taking positions ahead of the rate statements from the two central banks. Analysts noted that people had taken sterling a lot lower recently and maybe now they were beginning to think that the BoE would not extend quantitative easing At midday it was revealed that the BoE did decide to hold both the interest rate and the asset purchase scheme at their current levels.
Kiwi halted its climb yesterday, as demand for higher-yeilding currencies weakened
Posted by admin on October 8th, 2009
Sterling reversed a three-day decline against the kiwi, posting marginal gains following a rise in risk aversion, closing the day at 2.1682. It was a choppy session for sterling, which initially dropped to a low of 2.1476 in early trading, as a lack of major economic data gave support to the higher-yielding currency. However, having dipped, the pound rebounded strongly, regaining over two cents as global equities backed off to trade in the red. Weak European stocks were followed in by the US markets, easing risk appetite and allowing the UK currency to stabilize in the afternoon, consolidating its position above 2.1650.
Sterling edged up against a broadly weaker dollar ahead of important central bank announcements
Posted by admin on October 8th, 2009
The pound reversed its steady decline against the greenback yesterday as investors relinquished defensive positions ahead of today’s MPC announcement. Cautious investors initially sought safety ahead of the two key central bank meetings today, putting pressure on the UK currency. Additionally, in an interview, Kansas City Federal Reserve President Thomas Hoenig said that the US central bank should start raising interest rates “sooner rather than later,” which buoyed confidence in the US economy. However, the greenback’s gains were limited, with the pound rebounding a cent from its intra-day low as investors felt that the market had gone too short on sterling positions ahead of today’s statements.
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Sterling is currently trading higher against the aussie following upbeat comments and a move to cash profits
Sterling recovered some of its recent extensive losses against the aussie dollar yesterday, climbing over two cents, to close up at 1.7668. Bank of England member, Paul Fisher, said yesterday that policy makers would be more likely to pause asset purchases in their upcoming meeting in November, giving themselves the option of “doing more later,” rather than stopping them. His comments were taken to read that the MPC is unlikely to extend their quantitative easing programme, supporting a slight rise in confidence in the UK economy, strengthening the pound. In broad terms, the aussie traded strongly against most currencies yesterday as positive economic data in the US led to investors adding to their long positions in the higher-yielding currency.
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