Steady Sterling

Last week seemed fairly quiet with a steady pound rate until Thursday when we had a GBPEUR rate spike due to policymakers leaning towards the higher interest rates in the BoE meeting. The initial plan was to hold interest rates at 0.5% due to a 7-2 vote by the Monetary Policy Committee. However, the plan to hold rates surprisingly changed after Andy Haldane who sits on the MPC voted in favour for a hike resulting in a 6-3 vote.

As a result, the GBPEUR rate spiked up ¾ cent which was very short-lived as the rate started to fall and eventually found its ground sitting slighter higher compared to where we started beginning of the week. Currently, with the strong pound, the rate is only 1% below the best rate that we’ve had but due to uncertainty with the Brexit negotiations and other economic factors, this can be short-lived potentially increasing the cost of your overseas property purchase.

Speak to our friendly team today to discuss the best options to save money on your currency transfer as this could be a brief buying opportunity. There is not much happening until July and the rates are probably the best you’ll see. This morning we have the IFO data released by Germany as well as data released by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

On Tuesday we have a speech from a member of the ECB’s Executive Board and from the UK we have a speech from a member of the MPC at 9.30am. The key speech to look out for is Mark Carney – Governor of Bank of England at 8.30am. Annual GDP results released on Thursday for the US at 12.30. It’s a volatile and sensitive market where the rates constantly fluctuate.

If you have a requirement to buy currencies then get in touch with your Account Manager today. We can keep an eye on the market for you and keep you updated to ensure that you get the best rate on the market to help save you money on your currency transfer.