US data dominates day busy end to week

Yesterday was a quiet day for UK and European data, with the US dominating releases. The morning was quiet with only a few releases and none of major note – German factory orders showed a decrease but this did little to move GBP/EUR rates and once again we saw a day of tight trading with it moving up and down with a half-cent range through the day. It was the afternoon that saw things heat up as focus was on the US as they released a raft of reports.

Early afternoon saw employment change, trade balance and jobless claims, all of which came in worse than expected. And whilst early evening reports of market services PMI and crude oil stocks showed an improvement this did little to help the weak USD. By the end of the day’s trading it had lost half a cent against the Pound and ¾ of a cent against the currently very strong Euro.

Today is a much busier day for Pound and Euro data. In the morning from the UK we have Halifax house prices, Industrial and manufacturing production, and goods trade balance data plus a speech from the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney. The Eurozone releases several reports including German Industrial production and a number of low level French and Italian ecostats.

The afternoon as always is dominated by the US as non-farm payrolls and unemployment data is released and whilst President Trump is due to meet President Putin. We also have Canadian unemployment data released for any readers who trade the Loonie.

At present, it certainly seems the Pound is struggling and trading in tight ranges particularly against the single currency. Whilst we have suggested they might be an interest rate hike in the UK, it is likely that the ECB will beat us to this with a hike of their own, or a reduction in their ongoing Q.E programme.

The Euro is also currently very strong and is only adding pressure on rates to push GBP/EUR rates lower. Should any of you have upcoming Euro transfers you might like to consider this and act sooner rather than later to avoid any further drops. GBP/USD rates are also currently close to the highest they have been since September last year, so equally Dollar buyers may like to take advantage.

Whatever your requirement might be, give Currency Index a call today for some friendly and professional guidance on how to get the most out of your transfer when sending money overseas.