More hurdles for Sterling despite good start to week

As the final week of the month gets underway the pound had a strong start starting to recover some of last week’s losses with good gains seen against the likes of the AUD, CAD, and USD despite an absence of UK data. The only currency that the pound didn’t gain against yesterday was the Euro which also performed very well after such a poor finish to last week.

The Euro’s strength came from better than forecast IFO figures for Germany which indicate business performance within the economy. This is the first of a string of German data this week that will likely drive the Euro’s performance. The Euro’s gains were also aided by weak US Services PMI figures which posted a lower result of 56.3 down from 57.1 last month.

Today see’s the first key releases of the week ahead with German GDP figures having already been announced this morning at 7:00am. Growth in the largest European economy was expected to slow from 1.4% to 1.2% annually and actual results were exactly as expected with little impact on Euro exchange rates.

At 10:00am we have an Inflation Report Hearing with Mark Carney and the Treasury Committee. With inflation very much a thorn in Sterling’s side at present, it is not unreasonable to expect that we could lose much of the recent gains as more details materialise from the hearing. The afternoon also brings some important news for both Canadian Dollars and the US, with Retails Sales and GDP figures to be announced respectively at 1:30pm. Markets expect improved figures for Canada but weaker growth figures for the US in line with the worldwide economic slowdown. At 3:00pm however US Consumer Confidence is expected to come in strong again and last month this figure was significantly better than forecast.

With a busy finish to month and many people looking to tie up property purchases before Christmas, make sure your broker knows of your timescales and targets so that we can help you maximise your transfer during this uncertain times.