Focus on Bank of England follows quiet day for data

Yesterday was a quiet day in the way of ecostats, however despite that we did see some movement in the markets. The major news came from elsewhere in the world as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand decided to cut their benchmark in interest rate for the fourth time since June, from 2.75% to 2.50%. This is largely as a result of low inflation levels due to a strong NZD, so this cut may be welcome news for those of you looking to buy NZD in the coming months.

Closer to home it was GBP that was the winner of the day out of the 3 major currencies – GBP, USD and EUR and gaining nearly a cent against the Euro and a cent and a half against the Dollar throughout the day.This could be largely a correction given its recent losses, but in part could be ahead of today’s BoE releases at midday – Interest rate decision, minutes and MPC vote. Whilst any major change is unlikely markets will be watching closely for any further indications towards a UK interest rate hike, which until recently was proposed for early next year but has since been delayed.

Prior to this we have UK trade balance data at 08.30 so rates could in fact begin to move during the early morning trading. Aside from these major releases it is a fairly quiet day in the way of data, and with much of the market awaiting next week’s US FED interest rate decision it is likely that the BoE minutes will act as a driver for any movements in the interim. Certainly any of you with upcoming transfers selling GBP and buying particularly USD or EUR would be well advised to stay in close contact with your Currency Index account manager.

Last week we saw the Euro gain nearly 4 cents against the pound and US Dollar in a single day trading – increasing the cost of a €150k purchase by around £3.5K pounds. Given the huge amount of speculation surrounding next week and the FED announcement in what it is arguably one of the biggest releases of the year, further movements like this are not out of the question.

So speak to Currency Index broker today for some friendly and professional guidance on how to get the most out of your transfer, and to try and avoid any costly movements in the rates.