Stock market falls overnight have cast a pall over a morning which most forecast as a day of recovery. The DJIA plummeted 7% although opening high as fear and panic still gripped the market. A resumption of short selling, the act of profiting from falling share prices, will also have seen fatter volumes and increased whipsaw. Stock markets in Asia have also been crucified with the Japanese Nikkei 225 down by over 10% at one point. FTSE futures forecast a 300 point drop on the open.

Unfortunately it is the pound which seems to be the worst performing of the G7 currencies over the week; spiralling to a new multi year low against the dollar and giving back every shred of upside that it fought for against the single currency in recent sessions.

Dollar has also been helped by falls on oil markets overnight with a barrel of WTI now costing $83, the lowest in 12 months. Some OPEC countries called for a cut in supply to stimulate the price north although this, in the short term has turned out to be a fruitless exercise.

Data today is fairly inconsequential given equity market moves and we are likely to see further volatility throughout the day.

If you can, have a great weekend.

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:Corporate Foreign Exchange Team on 020 7801 9050 or our Private Client Currency Exchange Team 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.