Oil Prices On The Cusp Of A Major Low - December 3, 2015 16:43

So here we are, on the cusp of oil prices breaking the 2015 lows. Below this and oil is heading down to prices not seen since the mid noughties. But how did it get so low? Will it recover? There are a bundle of reasons why oil prices have been falling steady. Supply and demand, […]

GBP and EURO Still Weak as Monetary Policy Continues To Dominate - December 2, 2015 11:35

On Tuesday the Bank of England published its half-yearly report of financial stability, afterwards Mark Carney, the governor, held a press conference in which he highlighted the success of the recent stress tests of major British banks. In this conference he also stated that asset prices are sensitive to rising interest rates and spoke of […]

US Markets: Figures Beat Expectations and Dollar Continues Astounding Run Higher - November 9, 2015 13:55

US Markets were up for a 6th consecutive week with the prospect of a rate hike becoming increasingly likely, the date being earmarked by many as December 16th. Speculation of a rate hike has affected the Bond markets, with falls accelerating on Friday with a 10 base point fall on T-Bond. Wall Street closed with […]

GBP Rate Higher As Retail Sales Outperform Then Loses Ground - October 23, 2015 9:50

Sterling romped higher across the board on Thursday as investors responded positively to the UK’s outperforming retail sales report. The rate of retail sales growth exceeded forecasts on both a monthly and annual basis, indicating that low consumer prices and higher average earnings are having a positive impact on people’s spending habits. However, the Pound […]

Unemployment Level Suggests UK Is Ready For Rate Hike But Speculation Still Says No - October 16, 2015 12:29

Although hopes of a rate hike from the Bank of England before Christmas were mostly thrown out the window weeks ago the Pound did retain a steady stream of buy orders yesterday, deriding from Wednesday’s upbeat British unemployment report. The latest UK labour data showed that the jobless rate sunk to a new seven-year low […]

GBP/EUR Sinks To Month Low As Concerns On VW Continue - September 25, 2015 9:31

The Pound continued to struggle versus the majors yesterday as speculative investors pushed rate hike bets further into the future. Markets now expect the Bank of England to remain on the sidelines until October of next year – despite comments from BoE Governor Mark Carney suggestive of a rate rise in the second quarter of […]

GBP Continues Slide As Rate Rise Speculation Continues - September 24, 2015 11:02

The Pound weakened yesterday as the dust continued to settle from the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy announcement. The US central bank opted to leave rates on hold in September last Thursday and the dovish tone in Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s accompanying press conference caused investors to push back their Fed rate hike bets from three […]

Borrowing Up And Its Bad News For The UK Government - September 23, 2015 12:10

Sterling suffered yesterday as investors reacted to some bad news for the UK government. The big news of the day was a public sector borrowing report, which showed that £12.1 billion was needed to balance the books in August – up from £0.7 billion in July and much higher than analysts’ forecasts of £9.2 billion. […]

Pound Holds Range As Market Awaits Fed Interest Rate Decision - September 15, 2015 14:00

Sterling fluctuated on Monday as investors responded to hawkish comments from Bank of England (BoE) officials and the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader. The currency failed to exert itself beyond technical resistance against the US Dollar and remained trading in the 1.36 range against the Euro. Pound volatility is likely to occur this […]