Pound ends October on a high

Sterling finished October with a surge in Friday afternoon trading, hitting €1.40 (interbank level) for the first time since mid-August. It was also up against the Japanese Yen, South African Rand, New Zealand Dollar and US Dollar, reversing trends seen in recent weeks for a more expensive US currency.

With little data out towards the end of last week, trading was sentiment driven through American trading hours, with the best exchange rates appearing in the European evening. If you missed these rates on Friday, be sure to check this morning in case the new month brings a correction back down to lower rates, as there may only be a small window of opportunity.

Indeed, Eurozone unemployment figures released on Friday were slightly better than expected, and inflation also returned to zero, both pieces of good news for the Eurozone economy which could have easily made the single currency more expensive. A further warning for the UK economy came from UBS on Friday, with the Swiss bank’s survey revealing that London is now the world’s biggest house price bubble, at risk of bursting.

November currency news

This week we start with a quiet day, the only data of note being this morning’s Swiss retail sales figures and some manufacturing numbers for the UK and Europe. However the week ahead is full of important monthly news releases, with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision and a Mario Draghi speech tomorrow, and the ECB meeting on Wednesday. On Thursday there could be fireworks after the Bank of England’s monthly announcements around QE and interest rates along with Mark Carney’s press conference. Finally on Friday we have US non-farm payrolls, the main monthly US labour market measure, and Canadian unemployment.

So with important news due out for all the major currencies this week, we would expect to see some volatility in prices. If you have a requirement coming up to send or receive any currency payments, be sure to contact us at Currency Index for the latest news and rates.