Emphasis Turns To Rate Hikes - June 8, 2015 9:13

Sentiment towards the Pound improved slightly on Friday in response to a fairly sanguine inflation expectations report. Despite the consumer price index currently standing at a half-century low of -0.1%, the Bank of England’s latest survey showed that Britons expect inflation to rise to +2.2% over the next 12 months. Governor Mark Carney commented last […]

UK Economy Grows Despite Q1 Slowdown - June 1, 2015 9:12

Over the weekend the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) suggested that despite the slowdown during the first three months of the year the UK economy grew at its fastest pace for 12 months during the second quarter. CBI chief Rain Newton-Smith commented that a ‘stellar increase’ in private sector activity combined with ‘increased spending power’ […]

US Dollar Gains Ground After Housing Data - May 20, 2015 10:01

The Pound Sterling declined against the US Dollar as the currency remained under pressure from Tuesday’s negative UK inflation data. Inflation dipped -0.1% in April, defying expectations for an unchanged figure. Against the Euro the Pound advanced sharply as economists raised their bets that Greece will default on its June 5 debt repayment to the […]

BOE Suggesting Interest Rates Won’t Rise This Year - May 14, 2015 11:28

So, the big news is that the Bank of England reduced its growth forecasts for this year and next, and in so doing appeared to indicate that interest rates won’t rise until this time next year. The cautionary statement from BoE Governor Mark Carney had a detrimental impact on the Pound against most of the […]

Interest Rate Announcement Not Expected To Impact - May 11, 2015 9:34

Sterling retained its strength against the majors on Friday as markets reacted to the fact that not only had David Cameron’s Conservative party secured a much larger proportion of the vote than expected, but they had actually gained enough seats to form an outright majority government. The news boosted the Pound because it removed the […]

GBP Rate Gains As Conservatives Look Likely To Win Election - May 8, 2015 10:04

Demand for Sterling surged last night when the first unofficial exit poll showed that the Conservatives were likely to have won 316 seats out of a possible 650. The poll put Labour on 239, the Scottish National Party on 58, the Liberal Democrats on 10 and the United Kingdom Independence Party on two. The possibility […]

GBP Euro Exchange Rate Falls Into Election Day - May 7, 2015 10:49

British second quarter growth prospects were given a massive boost yesterday when Markit Economics announced that the dominant UK service sector performed at its strongest level for eight months in April. Smashing expectations of 58.5, the PMI printed at an impressive 59.5 as a surge in new business caused firms to continue hiring at a […]

Slugglish Pound in Light of Dismal Construction Data - May 6, 2015 10:44

Following on from last week’s dismal manufacturing and GDP prints, British economic sentiment took another knock yesterday morning when the latest UK construction PMI printed close to its lowest level for two years. Output dropped from 57.8 to 54.2, missing forecasts of 57.4, as clients held back on investment ahead of this week’s general election. […]

US Dollar Makes Slight Gains Versus Pound and Euro - May 5, 2015 9:58

The Pound Sterling advanced against the Euro as economists continued to worry about the situation in Greece and investors reacted to disappointing data out of France. Against the US Dollar, the Pound was holding close to a one-week low as the US currency regained ground due to Monday’s positive manufacturing data. Sterling is set to […]