Foreign Exchange - UK Daily Update - Friday, August 29, 2008 6:48 - 0 Comments

World First’s Morning FX Update – 29th August 2008

Sterling is looking like it’s going to end August the way it started; wobbly and choked by the housing market. As we reported yesterday the Nationwide published details of housing market in the month of July and exposed just how perilous it has become.  Prices are down 10% over the year, 300,000 people are now believed to be in negative equity and expectations are of that figure to quadruple. The government is now sounding out opinions to allow town halls to take an equity stake in homes for first-time buyers as a means of easing the pressure; opinion is split although all too often the argument of Labour meddling is used as buttress.

With houses slipping further into the gutter it is no surprise that there seems to be little sign of respite for the pound. The dollar is looking ominous and a concerted move through 1.83 would herald another downwards leg, possibly into the 1.7s. We are also running very close to an all time low against the euro. The single currency is also in a right state due to inflationary problems and terrible business confidence releases but continues to have the upper hand over GBP.  

Data today may extend sterling’s losses as well; CPI data from the Eurozone is expected to fall while consumer confidence from the US could set dollar up for a Friday afternoon run at further record lows.

Have a great weekend.

Indicative Rates
	Sell	Buy
GBPEUR	1.2400	1.2425
GBPUSD	1.8283	1.8308
EURUSD	1.4727	1.4751
GBPJPY	199.19	199.93
GBPAUD	2.1182	2.1237
GBPNZD	2.5976	2.6037
GBPCAD	1.9200	1.9270
GBPZAR	14.07	14.11
USDZAR	7.68	7.72
GBPPLN	4.1476	4.1828
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) 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.