Yesterday was a bad day for the pound. Bradford and Bingley’s fundraising operations have spooked sterling investors and operators in the financial services arena. The lack of yeast in our PMI, released at 50.0 against an expected 50.5, also led GBP dealing to be fairly downcast.

The dollar was able to benefit on the back of this and cable has dropped back sharply from its 1.98 levels. Their version of PMI, ISM, was stronger than anticipated however the gains were halted after Standard & Poors downgraded the corporate debt of the entire US financial sector. Gulp.

Euro also broke lower against sterling yesterday but predominantly due to the sterling’s weakness.

Further falls on sterling could evolve today and market participants should watch for credit and equity bourse movements for sentiment issues.

Today’s Data
UK: 09.30 Construction PMI
Expected: na
Previous: 46.1
EU: 10.00 GDP QoQ
Expected: 0.7%
Previous: 0.7%
EU: 10.00 PPI
Expected: 0.7%
Previous: 0.7%
US: 15.00 Factory Orders
Expected: -0.1%
Previous: 1.3%
Indicative Rates
Sell Buy
GBPEUR 1.2598 1.2625
GBPUSD 1.9625 1.9649
EURUSD 1.5565 1.5587
GBPJPY 203.68 205.78
GBPAUD 2.0528 2.0576
GBPNZD 2.4978 2.5051
GBPCAD 1.9590 1.9642
GBPZAR 15.20 15.26
USDZAR 7.74 7.77
GBPPLN 4.2509 4.2768
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.

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