Sterling hits lows of 2019

19 July, 2019

Ashley Finill

This week Sterling hit its lowest point against the Euro since the turn of the new year. With sentiment heavily against the pound, even moderately positive data midweek in the UK with wage growth posting a higher figure of 3.4% from the previous reading of 3.6% and the unemployment rate remaining at 3.8% Sterling still could not gain any glimpse of recovery from its losses at the open of business on Monday.

As this week draws to a close you may be remiss to think the currency markets follow suit, however with what is likely to be a pivotal week forthcoming by all things politically, it is to be expected that the market is to remain highly volatile of over the course of the weekend. The conservative leader contest is set to come to its conclusion on Wednesday of next week between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. There is potential that various interviews may take place and also leadership surveys may be published in the news which would more than likely have an effect on Sterling’s performance against the majors so it may be an idea to take interest in the following options.

Options

With the markets unpredictable, the weekend approaching and a currency requirement imminent you do have currency contract options to mitigate your risk should the Pound again take a downward turn and presenting nasty surprises come Monday morning. The first, a stop-loss order which is seen as a safety net if you have a budget you’ve set to. This allows you to set a rate so that should Sterling plummet into freefall once triggered your currency is bought at the set rate removing the risk of any purchase becoming unaffordable. The second, a forward contract. Should you have a requirement in the coming months it may be prudent to look at purchasing your currency beforehand to secure a rate with a 10% deposit and removing the possibility of the rate falling, should this happen still achieve the fixed-rate agreed.