The G20 meeting looks set to disappoint those hoping for a reversal of fortunes for sterling in the short term. Although pledges were made by both Saudi Arabia and China these were not to an IMF initiated fund but instead to stimulate their own economies. The market may look at this as a lack of certainty and conviction from the richest 20 countries in the UK and allow the risk averse to keep the upper hand. We would therefore expect USD and JPY to continue their onslaught.

News from the US on Friday was also disappointing as retail sales fell for the 4th month in a row although consumer confidence did rise in a move that we would attribute to falling petrol prices.

European growth figures were also poor as the Eurozone now deals with a technical recession. This saw the single currency lose ground against sterling in early trade Friday but these gains were quickly given back.

Today’s data schedule is dominated by US figures. October’s Industrial production figures are due to show a dramatic decrease as the US economy falls further into a recession.

 Please feel free to contact me (jeremy.cook@worldfirst.com) if you have any questions or thoughts regarding these updates or if you are interested in a particular event in the calendar. If you would like to discuss your foreign exchange requirements, please contact our:

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Disclaimer: 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 author’s own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice.

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