The ECB left rates on hold at 4% after their policy meeting yesterday. Trichet, the committee president, released a hawkish statement and hinted at a hike
in the future. The euro rallied on the release and strengthened against the dollar and the pound.

The Bank of England also left their base rate on hold at 5%. This outcome was widely expected and had little impact on sterling. On the whole, GBP should
continue to struggle due to the steady stream of soft domestic data that has been the trend of late.

Today is quieter on this side of the pond and all the focus will be on US data. The Non-Farm Payrolls will give an indication of the state of the employment
market over the last month. The figure is expected to have fallen further, and USD might give up some of the gains from the last two days. However, reaction to payroll figures has been unpredictable recently. So the market may elect to stick with the recent dollar rally, which Bernanke’s comments initiated earlier in the week.
Today’s Data
US: 12.30 Non-Farm Payrolls
Expected: -50
Previous: -20
US: 12.30 Unemployment rate
Expected: 5.1%
Previous: 5.1%
Indicative Rates
Sell Buy
GBPEUR 1.2525 1.2552
GBPUSD 1.955 1.957
EURUSD 1.5589 1.5561
GBPJPY 207.08 207.64
GBPAUD 2.0409 2.0461
GBPNZD 2.5468 2.554
GBPCAD 1.9892 1.9943
GBPZAR 15.23 15.45
USDZAR 7.82 7.85
GBPPLN 4.2405 4.2605
Rates are dependent on amount transacted
Please call 0207 801 9080 for a live rate quote

Email: (jeremy.cook@worldfirst.com) Please feel free to contact me at anytime regarding these briefings, if you have any questions or thoughts on them, or if you are interested in a particular event in the calendar.Please call us on 0800 783 6022 / +44 20 7801 9080 if you would like to discuss the markets or fix a rate.

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The above comments are only our views and should not be construed as advice. You should act using your own information and judgement. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute the authors own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice.

Any rates given are interbank and therefore for amounts of £5million and so are not indicative of rates offered by World First for smaller amounts.