The Pound has come under severe pressure after worse-than-expected public borrowing data, and Alistair Darling’s budget condemning the UK to its worst financial year since the second world war.
Against the Euro and Dollar, Sterling has fallen 2c in trading today and looks set to compound the losses further.
This morning’s figures showed borrowing in March rose to £19.1bn, higher than analysts’ expectations, and unemployment rose to 6.7%, the highest since Labour came to power.
Average earnings were also down, in a desperate day of data releases for the Pound.
Sterling is particularly susceptible to any negative news in the current climate, given the terrible level of confidence in the UK. International investors are reluctant to invest in British assets at present, reducing demand for the Pound and therefore bringing exchange rates down as the value of the Pound falls.
Any businesses or individuals who need to be sending money internationally in the coming weeks and months should be aware of these developments and consider fixing exchange rates to reduce their exposure to currency markets.
Tomorrow’s industrial trends survey and Friday’s GDP and retail sales data provide further risk to the weakness of the UK economy and therefore our currency.
