Does a quiet week spell trouble ahead for GBP

Last week was a particularly volatile one for the market, especially for the majors – GBP/EUR/USD. The big movements of the week began Wednesday following George Osborne’s Autumn statement which saw the pound strangely gain against the Euro. These losses were nearly all but eroded by close of play Thursday and following Mario Draghis speech and the ECB monetary policy statement – once again it would seem “Super Mario” struck and the Euro saw strength again. Despite talk of further Q.E in the Euro zone for months now it would seem at least in the short term things are stable. As we moved to Friday eyes moved away from the battle between the pound and the single currency, across the Atlantic to the greenback. Following positive non-farms payroll data – showing an increase to 321k from a predicted 230k the USD rallied and stole recently lost ground across the board but significantly against the majors. The strong dollar also encouraged Euro selling and throughout the day’s trading Friday we saw the pound recoup some of the gains made Wednesday, lost following Draghi’s comments.

This week is particularly quiet for the majors but moreover the pound. As you can see below we have very little data of major note from the major 3, but the majority of data rather seems to be coming from elsewhere in the world. This could spell some trouble for the pound as recently the USD has been strong and following its surprise non-farms result Friday could continue to gain. In addition with Draghi talking up the Euro on Thursday have we merely seen a slight correction in the GBP>EUR rates which will be slowly eroded throughout the week’s trading? Certainly with little voice to fight back with this week it may be a concerning week for the pound given the current USD strength and ongoing fight from EUR. So if any of you have upcoming transfers to make (particularly USD or EUR) you may like to take advantage of the current rates to avoid losing out should this week be a bad one for GBP. Speak to your C.I broker today for some friendly and professional guidance on how to get the most out of your currency transfer . Currency Index can help you stay well informed and well ahead of the market.

Currency News Due This Week

Monday

• 09.30     EUR        Sentix Investor confidence

Tuesday

• 07.00     EUR        Trade Balance
• 09.30     GBP       Industrial Production

Wednesday

• 01.30     CNY      CPI data
• 20.00     NZD      RBNZ Interest rate decision and Monetary Policy Statement

Thursday

• N/A        CNY       New Loans
• 00.30     AUD     Employment change and unemployment data
• 08.30     CHF      SNB Press conference
• 10.15     EUR      Targeted LTRO 
• 13.30     USD      Retail Sales

Friday

• 10.00     EUR        Industrial Production and Employment change data
• 14.55     USD       Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index