World First Foreign Exchange 03/08/09 Update: Dollar off heavily as Fixings, GDP weigh
Dollar weakened massively on Friday as a good few factors worked against it. GDP was better than expected as it printed at -1% against a consensus view of -1.5% however previous quarters were revised lower. PCE, the main inflation release for US, was heavily off at -1.2%. The main weakness on Friday however was down to end of month fixings; a phenomenon in which share prices are taken at a certain time and then portfolios are valued. After the equity bull run we’ve seen over previous weeks a lot of people may have jumped out of their holdings in the US and therefore sold dollars heavily.
This is usually temporary although GBP has managed to keep its head up over the weekend and Asian trading. Sterling may be set for a good day and or week as we move through bank reporting season. HSBC and Barclay’s are due out today with Lloyds group on Wednesday and RBS on Friday.
GBP is right at the top of its recent trading range and a failure to close above 1.6750 will be viewed as a sign of rejection with a fall lower expected.
We start a busy data week with UK house prices and EU manufacturing PMI (both 09.00). US ISM Manufacturing data is also due today (15.00)
Latest Exchange Rates At Time Of Writing
Indicative Rates
Sell
Buy
GBP/EUR
1.1740
1.1766
GBP/USD
1.6690
1.6713
EUR/USD
1.4198
1.4218
GBP/JPY
158.05
158.37
GBP/AUD
1.9985
2.0010
GBP/NZD
2.5187
2.5225
GBP/CAD
1.8000
1.8041
NZD/USD
0.6615
0.6637
GBP/ZAR
12.98
13.03
USD/ZAR
7.78
8.00
GBP/PLN
4.8560
4.88
EUR/JPY
134.58
134.93
Rates are dependent on amount transacted. Please call 0207 801 9080 for a live rate quote.
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.
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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. 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.
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