Today's Currency Market Focus

GBP: Is Sterling a falling knife?
EUR: Pushed around
USD: Back to the uptrend

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GBP Is Sterling a falling knife?

Sterling doesn’t have many friends at the moment.

According to Reuters, selling momentum from hedge funds and speculators is at its highest level in 5 years.

It’s all to do with Brexit and its impending deadline – which is now only 8 months away.
The UK economy, while not flying, has been resilient.

Today we have the latest economic growth (GDP) figures, which is expected to be 1.3%, up from 1.2% last quarter. It might offer some respite to the Pound, but don’t expect it to last long.

EUR: Pushed around

There’s been a lack of EU news this week but that still doesn’t mean the Euro won’t swing around.

Currencies are a relative measure, so in the absence of local events, the Euro will be dictated by news elsewhere.

This has been evident this week with GBP/EUR led by Sterling weakness and EUR/USD driven by Dollar strength.

USD: Back to the uptrend

After some wobbles earlier in the week, the dollar continues its ascent and is just short of a 13-month high against a basket of currencies.

Simmering troubles with Russia and Turkey are bringing buyers to safe-haven currencies like the US Dollar (and Swiss France & Japanese Yen).

In addition, the US economy looks to be on the up. Today we have the latest inflation (CPI) reading, which is forecast to be 2.9% - a level that would suggest more rate rises are needed.

Thanks For Reading, What Next?

To discuss current exchange rates and currency purchasing strategies, please contact your trader today on 01872 487 500.

If you don't yet have an account please request a free quote and we’ll look after you from there.

Have a great day,

Geoff Lambourne - Direct Dial me on 0044 (0)1872 487 470.

Current rates: 

Friday 10th August 2018 at 12:50

£1.00 GBP = 1.1146 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.2774 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7470 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9355 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.6725 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.7342 ZAR

Need to Send Money Abroad?

At Clé France, many of our customers have a need for currency exchange.

We are pleased to have partnered with Key Currency to offer our customers favourable exchange rates on international currency transfers.

Key Currency is an award-winning currency exchange specialist, Key Currency Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Authorised Payment Institution (Financial Services Register No. 753989) and experienced in executing high-volume transactions.

As a Clé France website visitor, you qualify for preferential exchange rates when you transact through Key Currency.

Save money on your foreign currency transfers

Key Currency can save you money by offering more competitive rates of exchange than retail banks.

Clients can typically save you 3-4% of the total transaction value, which can result in significant cost savings.

All client funds are held in segregated accounts with top-tier banks keeping your money safe and secure.

Download our "Buying A Property in France" Guide PDF document.

Concerned about Brexit? download our "Buyers Guide to Brexit" PDF document.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk 

Today's Currency Market Focus

GBP: Surely they can’t back out now
EUR: Recovery back on track?
USD: Here we go again

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GBP: Surely they can’t back out now

Pound Sterling has been trading in a narrow range ahead of this week’s rate decision.

The odds of a quarter percent rate rise tomorrow stand at around 90% though not everyone is convinced the Bank of England (BoE) will go ahead with the hike.

In fact, Governor Mark Carney has been mocked as an “unreliable boyfriend” having promised rate hikes in the past only to back out at the last minute.

If the BoE do hike, it will be only the second time since the financial crisis. Given the fragile state of the UK economy heading into Brexit, it’s likely to be a ‘one and done’ scenario. If Carney throws some cautious language into the mix, it could actually end up a negative event for Sterling.

EUR: Recovery back on track?

After some wobbles over the last few months, the EU recovery seems to be regaining momentum.

Yesterday both German Retail Sales and Euro-zone Inflation (CPI) came in higher than expected. Inflation in the Euro-zone is now at its highest level since 2012.

While interest rates are unlikely to change in the EU soon, it will start to put pressure on the European Central Bank to sit up and take notice.

USD: Here we go again

Tension is building again between the world’s two biggest economies; US and China.

President Trump is said to be considering proposing higher tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports. So far the ‘negotiations’ have stayed civil and not led to a trade war.

Attention will turn to the Federal Reserve (Fed) rate meeting, which is later today. No rate change is expected but the outlook is likely to offer up clues on future hikes. Markets still believe another two hikes in the US could happen before the year is out.

Thanks For Reading, What Next?

To discuss current exchange rates and currency purchasing strategies, please contact your trader today on 01872 487 500.

If you don't yet have an account please request a free quote and we’ll look after you from there.

Have a great day,

Geoff Lambourne - Direct Dial me on 0044 (0)1872 487 470.

Current rates: 

Wednesday 1st August 2018 at 11:30

£1.00 GBP = 1.1228 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.3120 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7696 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9288 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7086 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.4100 ZAR

Need to Send Money Abroad?

At Clé France, many of our customers have a need for currency exchange.

We are pleased to have partnered with Key Currency to offer our customers favourable exchange rates on international currency transfers.

Key Currency is an award-winning currency exchange specialist, Key Currency Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Authorised Payment Institution (Financial Services Register No. 753989) and experienced in executing high-volume transactions.

As a Clé France website visitor, you qualify for preferential exchange rates when you transact through Key Currency.

Save money on your foreign currency transfers

Key Currency can save you money by offering more competitive rates of exchange than retail banks.

Clients can typically save you 3-4% of the total transaction value, which can result in significant cost savings.

All client funds are held in segregated accounts with top-tier banks keeping your money safe and secure.

Download our "Buying A Property in France" Guide PDF document.

Concerned about Brexit? download our "Buyers Guide to Brexit" PDF document.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk 

Today's Currency Market Focus

GBP: Short-lived rally

EUR: Treading water 

USD: Hog on hog

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GBP: Short-lived rally

The Pound fell yesterday after the incoming member of the Bank of England’s rate setting committee cast doubts over whether a UK rate rise is needed. 

Economics professor, John Haskel, shared his views with parliament’s Treasury Select Committee. He thinks the uncertainty over Brexit warrants a cautious approach. 

At last week’s meeting the committee voted 6-3 to keep rates on hold. It looks like the professor will be playing it safe. 

Time is running out for Theresa May to make progress on Brexit ahead of the EU Summit which begins tomorrow. 

EUR: Treading water

A quiet start to the week for the Euro with no real significant data to digest. 

Simmering in the background is the escalating global trade war. President Trump has hinted that Europe could be dragged into the scrap next. 

The Euro could be more lively in the coming days as we have German Consumer Confidence, CPI (inflation) and Unemployment. The trend of late has been negative, so investors will be hoping for an improvement. 

USD: Hog on hog

The Dollar held steady yesterday as President Trump turned his fire and fury on an American rather than foreign target. He’s not happy with Harley Davidson, which is moving a lot of their production from the US to Thailand. 

While this took some heat off China (and Europe), it still is part of the same problem. And that’s a problem that’s not going away. President Trump is prepared to play the long game and ride out a battle of retaliatory trade tariffs. 

In the mean time, USD investors have a fair bit coming up with Durable Goods today and GDP tomorrow? 

Thanks For Reading, What Next?

To discuss current exchange rates and currency purchasing strategies, please contact your trader today on 01872 487 500.

If you don't yet have an account please request a free quote and we’ll look after you from there.

Have a great day,

Geoff Lambourne - Direct Dial me on 0044 (0)1872 487 470.

Current rates: 

Wednesday 27th June 2018 at 11:00

£1.00 GBP = 1.1351 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.3211 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7898 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9362 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7589 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 18.0341 ZAR

Need to Send Money Abroad?

At Clé France, many of our customers have a need for currency exchange.

We are pleased to have partnered with Key Currency to offer our customers favourable exchange rates on international currency transfers.

Key Currency is an award-winning currency exchange specialist, Key Currency Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Authorised Payment Institution (Financial Services Register No. 753989) and experienced in executing high-volume transactions.

As a Clé France website visitor, you qualify for preferential exchange rates when you transact through Key Currency.

Save money on your foreign currency transfers

Key Currency can save you money by offering more competitive rates of exchange than retail banks.

Clients can typically save you 3-4% of the total transaction value, which can result in significant cost savings.

All client funds are held in segregated accounts with top-tier banks keeping your money safe and secure.

Download our "Buying A Property in France" Guide PDF document now.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk 

Today's Currency Market Focus

GBP: Sterling rises from the shadows

EUR: Euro gets slammed (on purpose)  

USD: Top Dollar

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GBP: Sterling rises from the shadows

The Pound has had some sharp swings this week even though most of the attention has been on the Euro and Dollar. 

In the UK, inflation may have disappointed but bumper growth in retail sales indicates the economy may be coming out of its mini-slump. 

With the Fed and ECB tightening policy, we feel the Bank of England will be more inclined to follow suit – which would be positive for the Pound. 

EUR: Euro gets slammed (on purpose)

The ECB managed to catch investors by surprise yesterday, triggering steep falls in the Euro. 

In the lead up to this month’s meeting the ECB had given markets the heads up they would announce the phasing out of monetary stimulus (bond purchases). But the ECB are a crafty bunch and didn’t want this news to propel the Euro any higher as it would hurt EU (ie German) exports. 

So they kept a little bit of bad news back for the big occasion – that interest rates would be on hold through to at least mid-2019. It was enough to spoil the party with the Euro leading the way down on the day. 

USD: Top Dollar

There’s no stopping the rampant Dollar at the moment. With the Euro deliberately dented by the European Central Bank and Sterling hindered by Brexit, the Dollar continues to shine. 

How quickly we forget that towards the end of last year and early this year, the opposite was true. Good or bad new seem to take the Dollar down. 

There is good reason for the Dollar rally. The US economy is in good shape and the Fed is raising rates - another two hikes are expected this year. 

But there’s no “sure things” in finance and this weekend is expected to bring more trade tariffs against China. Will the Chinese bite back? 

Thanks For Reading, What Next?

To discuss current exchange rates and currency purchasing strategies, please contact your trader today on 01872 487 500.

If you don't yet have an account please request a free quote and we’ll look after you from there.

Have a great day,

Geoff Lambourne - Direct Dial me on 0044 (0)1872 487 470.

Current rates: 

Friday 15th June 2018 at 12:45

£1.00 GBP = 1.1451 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.3280 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7770 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9093 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7432 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.8025 ZAR

Need to Send Money Abroad?

At Clé France, many of our customers have a need for currency exchange.

We are pleased to have partnered with Key Currency to offer our customers favourable exchange rates on international currency transfers.

Key Currency is an award-winning currency exchange specialist, Key Currency Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Authorised Payment Institution (Financial Services Register No. 753989) and experienced in executing high-volume transactions.

As a Clé France website visitor, you qualify for preferential exchange rates when you transact through Key Currency.

Save money on your foreign currency transfers

Key Currency can save you money by offering more competitive rates of exchange than retail banks.

Clients can typically save you 3-4% of the total transaction value, which can result in significant cost savings.

All client funds are held in segregated accounts with top-tier banks keeping your money safe and secure.

Download our "Buying A Property in France" Guide PDF document now.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk 

Today's Currency Market Focus

- GBP: The Irish question haunts Sterling

- EUR: Back to flavour of the month 

- USD: G7 Summit weighs on the Dollars

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GBP: The Irish question haunts Sterling

Sterling touched 1-months lows against the Euro yesterday on Brexit concerns. 

One major issue remains unresolved – the Irish border. The UK government wants to avoid a hard border (a wall?) but rumours are Theresa May is struggling (as always) to get her own cabinet to agree on the matter. 

Beyond Brexit, this week has seen some encouraging signs for the UK economy, in particular the widely watched PMI survey of the Services sector. The hope is the first quarter dip in growth was temporary. 

Option markets are keeping the dream alive; pricing in a 60% chance of a rate rise in September. But let’s face it, that’s not far off the flip of a coin. 

Today we have the 12-month inflation forecast due out. Buyers of Sterling will be hoping there’s no downward revision. 

EUR: Back to flavour of the month

The Italians may have caused some mayhem and the economic data may be soft, but that hasn’t stopped the Euro staging a comeback. 

The reason for the lift has come from unexpected quarters: the normally timid European Central Bank (ECB). 

The ECB is due to have its monthly policy meeting next week and the main point of discussion will be whether to end bond purchases later this year. This was confirmed yesterday by the ECB’s chief economist, Peter Praet. 

Despite the bullish noises from the ECB, the data in the EU continues to disappoint. A case in point was the negative reading on German factory orders yesterday. But when it comes to currencies, central banks beat economics (in the short-term anyway).  

USD: G7 Summit weighs on the Dollar

The bond markets have been playing a leading role in Dollar moves lately. This has largely been having a positive effect on the Dollar as US Treasury yields have been climbing on expectations of higher inflation/growth. 

But yesterday the trend went into reverse with US Treasury yields falling sharply, taking the wind out of the Dollar. Traders are putting it down to a drop in risk appetite, as tensions are rising between the US and its major trade partners ahead of the G7 summit this weekend. 

Thanks For Reading, What Next?

To discuss current exchange rates and currency purchasing strategies, please contact your trader today on 01872 487 500.

If you don't yet have an account please request a free quote and we’ll look after you from there.

Have a great day,

Geoff Lambourne - Direct Dial me on 0044 (0)1872 487 470.

Current rates: 

Friday 8th June 2018 at 11:00

£1.00 GBP = 1.1400 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.3414 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7719 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9113 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7462 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.6984 ZAR

Need to Send Money Abroad?

At Clé France, many of our customers have a need for currency exchange.

We are pleased to have partnered with Key Currency to offer our customers favourable exchange rates on international currency transfers.

Key Currency is an award-winning currency exchange specialist, Key Currency Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an Authorised Payment Institution (Financial Services Register No. 753989) and experienced in executing high-volume transactions.

As a Clé France website visitor, you qualify for preferential exchange rates when you transact through Key Currency.

Save money on your foreign currency transfers

Key Currency can save you money by offering more competitive rates of exchange than retail banks.

Clients can typically save you 3-4% of the total transaction value, which can result in significant cost savings.

All client funds are held in segregated accounts with top-tier banks keeping your money safe and secure.

Download our "Buying A Property in France" Guide PDF document now.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk