A bonus day for trading, but what for Sterling

We would normally be kicking off March today but with it being a leap year, we have a bonus day for February but who will benefit?

Last week the Pound lost further ground against most of its major pairings, losing out 2 cents to the Euro and over 4 cents to the US dollar. The Canadian dollar gained the most, taking nearly 10 cents off the pound over the week, led mainly by stronger oil prices. The other commodity currencies from down under each took 6 cents from sterling in what was a pretty miserable trading week for the pound, all kicked off by Boris Johnson committing his stance to the “leave EU” camp.

The political uncertainty surrounding the referendum now is that with such divide between the ruling party, the Prime Minister is undermined and if the vote goes against his, the future looks bleak for him and the U.K. With uncertainty on the horizon, we should expect uncertainty in the markets so much of the same could be on the cards for this week’s trading. Those with a currency purchase to make from sterling might be wise to chat through the options available including forward contracts, or maybe placing a stop loss and limit order to cut the risk but try and make the most of any potential gains the pound might manage to make. Speak to one of the team today for more information.

So what has the week got to offer as we close out February and kick start March? Plenty is the answer. We have many key releases from all over the world this week, culminating with US non-farm payrolls on Friday. Here is a full list of noteworthy release to bear in mind. 

Monday
EU inflation, US home sales figures. 

Tuesday
RBA interest rate decision and policy statement, Swiss retail sales, German unemployment, EU and UK manufacturing PMI, Canadian GDP, US manufacturing PMI 

Wednesday
Australian GDP, Swiss GDP, EU inflation, Feds Beige Book economic overview. 

Thursday
Australian trade balance, EU, US and UK services PMI 

Friday
UK consumer inflation expectations, US unemployment, average earnings and non-farm payrolls, Canadian Ivey PMI

A quiet start to the week as the month ends, but things pick up steam quickly as the week goes on so make sure to stay in touch with your Currency Index broker and don’t fall foul of the volatility we are likely to see.