| Sterling Higher On IP, Japanese GDP Helps Risk Profile |
| All this and more is available on our video blog at http://uk.youtube.com/user/WorldFirstJCMovements in forex markets are becoming increasingly difficult to predict with data and sentiment working against each other seemingly on a daily basis. Dollar gained against the euro over the course of the day and held its ground against sterling as traders priced in the possibility of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve in 2009. We don’t think it will happen. The dollar did weaken slightly towards the end of play, dragging equity markets lower as the true extent of the US Budget deficit for 2009 was published: $991.95bn
Data from the Euroland was mixed yesterday with the spectre of deflation looming large on the horizon as inflation from Germany and Spain wobbled while the sale of houses in the latter fell by 34.2% in Q1. Strong industrial production from the UK allowed sterling to pounce on the fragile euro with the market ignoring the fact that this is a frequently volatile measure and instead celebrating this is the first time IP in the UK has risen in consecutive months since Feb 08.
It’s a quiet day on the economic release front although US advance retail sales at 13.30 BST could stymie the dollar’s recent fortitude. Japanese GDP was released today and with the upward projection from -4% to -3.8% allowed the Nikkei to punch through the important 10,000 level for the first time since October 7th.
World First’s Twitter page is up and running and we will be live ‘tweeting’ the impact of all these data releases and how they affect the markets. Click below for up-to-date news on all things currency. The address is http://twitter.com/World_First |
| Latest Exchange Rates At Time Of Writing |
| Indicative Rates |
Sell |
Buy |
| GBP/EUR |
1.1683 |
1.1702 |
| GBP/USD |
1.6378 |
1.6405 |
| EUR/USD |
1.4000 |
1.4022 |
| GBP/JPY |
160.00 |
160.40 |
| GBP/AUD |
2.0218 |
2.0271 |
| GBP/NZD |
2.5622 |
2.5685 |
| GBP/CAD |
1.8072 |
1.8127 |
| NZD/USD |
0.6376 |
0.6399 |
| GBP/ZAR |
13.20 |
13.24 |
| USD/ZAR |
8.04 |
8.09 |
| GBP/PLN |
5.0286 |
5.0849 |
| EUR/JPY |
136.55 |
137.01 |
| Rates are dependent on amount transacted. Please call 0207 801 9080 for a live rate quote. |
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Please feel free to contact me jeremy.cook@worldfirst.com(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: Corporate Foreign Exchange on 020 7801 9050 or ourPrivate Client Currency Exchange on 020 7801 9080. 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. Any rates given are “interbank” i.e. for amounts of £5million and thus are not indicative of rates offered by World First for smaller amounts. E&OE. Definitions of jargon/market terms can be found in our Glossary of Foreign Exchange Terms..
To view any past or present currency blogs please click on the following link www.worldfirst.com/blog
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