Pound exchange rates finish the year on a high

31 December, 2014

Matthew Boyle

It has been a particularly quiet week on the market as we have had no real volume of data, or indeed any major releases of note. Monday’s Greek election result gave no result for Dimas and as such trading remained almost flat throughout the day for the majors and the pound across the board. Yesterday’s trading was hardly any different. With a few releases of minor note it was unlikely we would see high volatility or any large swings. UK house pricing data came in first in the morning and showed a slight drop to 7.2% from a predicted 7.5% and we did see a trickle down in GBP buying rates against the single currency. This however was short lived as the poor UK data was balanced by a Spanish report similar to inflation data which saw a drop to -1.1% from a predicted -0.7%. As such this seemed to balance the loss out and rates quickly stabilised and returned to the levels seen at the market open as Euro data continued throughout the morning, much of which at expected levels and offering little excitement.

Against USD, interestingly we did see slightly more movement in the mornings trading – and interestingly GBP strengthened against USD despite the poor UK housing data. Perhaps traders and investors were pre-empting the only real piece of notable data of the day – USD consumer confidence in the afternoon. After small gains in the morning levels stabilised until the afternoon when the report was released and we saw a contraction to 92.6 from a predicted 93, and with what it would seem much of the market speculating on such a result we saw little further movement throughout the day’s trading.

Today is once again a very quiet day, with a few morning releases from Europe including Greek retail sales. The main focus however is once again on USD as we see US jobless claims and Housing data this afternoon. So likely we will see another largely flat and range-bound day of trading for GBP and EUR, whilst for USD pairings it is more likely we will see some movement.

With New Years day tomorrow and a bank holiday we have no data releases and the Currency Index offices will be shut, with normal service returning Friday 2nd January.

But should you have any upcoming requirements get in touch with your C.I currency broker today to take advantage of current GBP buying levels, particularly if you have property completion dates on the near horizon. As the New year comes in and the winter frost begins to thaw (we hope) you may like to put the “freeze” on rates with a forward contract. So speak to your Currency Index broker today for some friendly and professional guidance on how to get the most of your transfer.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year from everyone at Currency Index!