08/11/2010 Last week saw a little recovery for sterling against most currencies, as expected given that the Bank of England did not extend Quantitative Easing at its meeting on Thursday. The prospect of further QE in the coming months still looms, however, so we doubt there will be significant improvement in exchange rates for transferring money abroad.
In the USA, the Federal Reserve did extend QE, which has given the dollar further weakness. Last week we saw the best rates for buying US Dollars since February, although the amount of easing was not as much as it may have been, so the rate has now steadied.
This weekââ¬â¢s currency news
For the Pound, this week we have the UK inflation report on Wednesday, which could cause problems. Inflation is still running too far above target, so worries will persist if the outlook has not improved. Conversely, a drop in UK inflation would make QE a more viable policy for the Bank of England, which would also be sterling-negative, so there is perhaps only a small target range where the inflation outlook could help the Pound.
Tomorrowââ¬â¢s manufacturing figures could also have a say in the Poundââ¬â¢s value this week.
Fixing an exchange rate
Donââ¬â¢t forget that with reputable currency brokers you can fix and thereby guarantee your exchange rate for up to 2 years in advance.
Data releases this week
Monday 8th
0645 – Swiss unemployment rate
1315 – Canadian housing starts
1800 – Speech – Federal Reserve – Fisher
0645 – Swiss unemployment rate
1315 – Canadian housing starts
1800 – Speech – Federal Reserve – Fisher
Tuesday 9th
0930 – UK industrial & manufacturing production; UK trade balance
1400 – unofficial UK GDP estimate
1730 – Speech – Bank of Canada – Carney
Wednesday 10th
1030 – UK inflation report; Speech – Bank of England – King
1330 – US & Canadian trade balance; US jobless claims
Thursday 11th
0030 – Australian unemployment rate
0900 – ECB monthly report
Friday 12th
0700 – German GDP
1000 – Eurozone GDP
