Overrall, the UK economy shrunk 0.2%
in the first three months of 2012. This has come as a surprise for
many, as recent decisions by the Bank Of England suggested that they
believed the country wasnââ¬â¢t going to slip back into recession. However,
those who have been keeping an eye on current exchange rates might be
confused as to why this negative UK economic data isnââ¬â¢t proving to be
bad for sterling. In fact, it appears to be quite the opposite, with the
pound gaining strength against the euro. As well as that, surveys
conducted during March show an increase in consumer confidence in
Britain.
The Prime Minister has vowed to stick to the Governmentââ¬â¢s
economic plans, a statement that may have gone some way to alleviate
fears of the UK economy becoming completely unstable.
More
bad news for the Eurozone this week, as Spanish unemployment hit a
record high of 24.4%, with 5.64 million Spaniards unemployed. This is
especially distressing for Spain, as their unemployment rates now exceed
that of Greece. Italian debt auctions were comparatively successful,
but not to the extent that the Euro made any major gains. The French
general elections may be causing some concern for the markets, as buyers
warily await the results. It should be worth nothing that the socialist
candidate, Francois Hollande, has set out a plan for growth should he
win, which would go hand in hand with German chancellor Angela Merkelââ¬â¢s
plans for growth. For the time being, however, the troubles in the
Eurozone utterly dwarf the comparatively minor problems in the UK
economy. As a result, this week has given us the best rates for transferring sterling to Euros
for 20 months. However, as the UK economy is in a precarious position,
it is unknown how long these rates will last for, especially as it may
lead to more Quantitative Easing from the Bank Of England.
Surprisingly,
the both the Euro and Sterling have seen a sudden resurgence against
the US dollar this week. In the poundââ¬â¢s case, we are seeing an 8 month
high against the US currency, giving us the best rates for money transfers to the USA
so far this year. This is mostly owing to US policymakers considering
the possibility of further monetary easing, and the chairman of the U.S.
Federal Reserve stating that any weakness in the U.S. economy would be
met with another round of bond purchases.
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