A Quiet Day For Sterling

Tuesday was a pretty quiet day, although we did see some movement throughout the trading day as investors digested the various data releases.

First off we had mortgage approvals for the UK which came in under expectations pushing sterling lower across the board, although with German IFO business confidence data also coming in under expectations the losses against the single currency were muted. Canadian retail sales came in as expected so little to go on there, followed by a raft of low key US data. Mid afternoon US consumer confidence figures were released lower than forecast which actually helped the pound make a late rally finishing off up against most currencies, although pretty much back where the day had started. Down under, some overnight, lower than expected figures from New Zealand on trade import and export helped to weaken the Kiwi by a couple of cents from yesterday.

It looks like confidence is still with the pound for now and with vague hints by Mario Draghi on a few occasions recently about further policy easing, markets are cautious over the euro. This is giving those looking to send money to Europe some of the best rates for 5 months and still no sign of any correction. But buyers beware, should the ECB u-turn on the “maybe” stance over further rate cuts and release a firm statement to the contrary, we could potentially lose the recent gains quickly.

Another quiet day for data, with just CBI trade survey for the UK and the key durable goods order from the US of any note. The German Gfk consumer confidence figure has already been released, 0.1 up on expectations giving the euro a few points over the pound so far.

To take advantage of the current strength of sterling, contact one of our brokers here at Currency Index today to discuss the various options available to you.