A new royal and a new day on the currency markets

As the UK weather forecast points towards storms later in the week, the same could be said for the Pound, which seems to be on standby awaiting Thursday’s GDP figures, which will reveal how much the economy grew in the 3 months to June. We look at today with positive news on welcoming a royal baby boy to the monarchy and this will hopefully, bring good luck with the improved economic data in recent weeks, markets are expecting a good figure on Thursday, and sterling is vulnerable if we do not see something better than the predicted 1.4% growth announced. For the Euro and US Dollar there is also very little data out today, with Eurozone consumer confidence at 3pm UK time and US house prices at 2pm. Both currencies have been edging slightly cheaper this week so far. US home sales fell more than expected in figures announced yesterday, which pushed the US Dollar lower, creating better rates for buying the American currency. Further afield, if you are sending money to Canada we have Canadian retail sales at 1.30pm and in New Zealand the trade balance figures are released at 11.45 tonight. Currency markets trade 24 hours a day during the week, as of course Asian and American trading means that there is no point at which the markets are ‘closed’ until late on Friday night. For the latest rates and a quote on your own transaction please contact us at Currency Index to discuss sending money abroad.