GBP: Sterling struggling

Sterling softened again yesterday as investors priced out the chance of a rate hike in May. 

Data showed that Britain’s manufacturing growth hit a 17-month low in April – more evidence that the Bank of England should sit tight. 

There was also more trouble in Parliament over Brexit as the Government faced its 9th defeat in the House of Lords. Almost 2 years after Brexit and opinion is divided as ever. 

This morning there’s been further evidence that the UK economy is cooling with consumer credit, money supply and mortgage approvals all falling short of expectations. 

EUR: Solid performer

A fairly quiet day in Euroland. The Euro gained against most currencies but lost further ground against the resurgent Dollar – against which it is trading near a 3 ½ month low. 

We spoke last week of an economic slowdown sweeping through the EU but this morning the numbers out have been solid. French, Italian and German Manufacturing PMIs have pretty much come in as expected. This should bring some confidence back to the Euro. 

USD: Momentum takes over

The Fed begins their two-day rate meeting later today. The wise old members should be pleased with the state of the US economy but rates are expected to stay unchanged this month. Will they revise their growth forecast higher?

In other news, geopolitical tensions continue to ease both in relation to North Korea and trade tariffs, which has improved sentiment towards the Dollar. So much so that the Dollar continued to march higher yesterday even though the data released missed the mark. When you’re hot, you’re hot. 

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: 

Thursday 3rd May 2018 at 07:30

£1.00 GBP = 1.1345 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.3604 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.8072 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9372 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7476 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.1464 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 

GBP: Back in black

The Pound was given a boost yesterday as the government announced its first budget surplus in 16 years. 

However, gains in the Pound were limited as the good news was offset by concerns elsewhere. A CBI Survey showed UK business sentiment had turned negative and the press also reported some trouble in Brexit negotiations as Brussels is making it difficult for the UK to get a bespoke deal on its all-important financial sector. 

The Pound has lost its upward momentum over the last week and is lacking the catalysts to regain its footing. 

EUR: Declining demand could dent the Euro

The European Central Bank (ECB) convenes for a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. 

The question is how they will respond to the recent slowdown in the EU economic activity. Investors have been expecting the ECB to cut back on quantitative easing in Q3 of this year. A change a policy could weaken the Euro. 

The other pressing issue facing the Euro is the resurgence of the Dollar. The Euro has undoubtedly benefited from the Dollar’s weakness, but with Dollar buyers returning, the Euro may face declining demand. 

USD: Dominant Dollar

The US dollar has continued its comeback this week, pushing to a 3-month high against a basket of currencies. 

The big story has been in the US bond markets, where the interest rate on the 10-year Treasury (government debt) has broken above 3% for the first time in 4 years. This is a signal that investors think US inflation is rising. 

While many investors have suspected the US government has endorsed a weaker Dollar, markets tend to get their way in the end. And with the US economy in better shape than most, it’s hard to keep the Dollar down. 

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 25th April 2018 at 15:20

£1.00 GBP = 1.1439 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.3938 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.8435 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9721 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7947 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.3725 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 

GBP: May hike now in doubt

It just shows how quickly things can change. Before last week the Pound was riding high piercing 1.15 against the Euro and 1.42 against the Dollar as investors priced in an 85% chance of a May rate hike from the Bank of England. 

But after a bout of bad news and some rather dour comments from Mark Carney, all of a sudden the odds have plummeted to 50%. As such, Sterling took a tumble last week and has lost its upward momentum. 

Two of the other BoE policymakers are giving speeches today. Investors will be watching to see whether they are softening their stance too. 

EUR: Important week ahead

This week is critical for the Euro. 

In recent weeks the economic news coming out of Germany has noticeably declined. This has confused investors as the EU was thought to be in a strong recovery phase, which had fuelled talks of the European Central Bank (ECB) perhaps raising rates later this year.

That looks highly unlikely now, but on Thursday this week the ECB has its monthly rate meeting, so investors will get a direct response on how the ECB views the recent data. 

Today we have a bunch of PMIs for the Euro-Zone, Germany and France. These are good indicators of business confidence. 

USD: Finding support?

After a horrible start to the year, the Dollar found some support last week. In fact, it hit its highest level since the 9th January as measured against a basket of 16 other currencies, including strong gains against the Pound and the Euro. 

The US economy is in pretty good shape and the Federal Reserve has indicated that further rate rises are coming this year. So in the absence of any political events, there is a strong case to see a Dollar comeback. 

Like the EU, the US also has PMIs due out today. Flat readings are expected. 

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: 

Monday 23rd April 2018 at 10:55

£1.00 GBP = 1.1416 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.3960 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.8282 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9459 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7873 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.1134 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 

GBP: Sterling get the wobbles

All up, Sterling has had a pretty poor week. In the last two days we’ve had inflation reported at its lowest level for 12 months and retail sales growth go negative for March.

It’s well and truly taken the wind out of Sterling’s sails. 

Perhaps the most important lesson from this week is that when exchange rates are favourable, it’s worth taking advantage of them. Trying to decide the exact moment to trade is fraught with psychological pitfalls. 

When Sterling’s rising it feels like it will keep going and going. Greed kicks in. We hold off to get a higher rate. But it’s impossible to pick the highs and lows. By the time we realise the high has come and gone, it’s too late.

Those that were able to trade at over 1.15 against the Euro and 1.42 against the Dollar will be feeling pretty good right now.

EUR: Surplus in the spotlight

Usually a large trading surplus would be seen as a good thing. But with President Trump looking to rebalance the scales, the EU is starting to stand out like a sore thumb. 

For that reason, the response to the EU’s latest surplus received a mixed response yesterday. 

Today German producer prices have come out first thing and have fallen short of expectations. This is further evidence that Europe’s powerhouse is losing steam. 

USD: Trump predicts good things

The US Dollar got a boost yesterday after President Trump eased fears of trade wars.

As always, Twitter was the source “Great meeting with Prime Minister Abe of Japan...Talked in depth about North Korea, Military and Trade. Good things will happen!”.

It was enough to overshadow the latest US jobs numbers, which came in below forecast.

Today investors will be looking for clues on interest rate policy in a speech by Federal Reserve member, Charles Evans. 

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 20th April 2018 at 09:30

£1.00 GBP = 1.1396 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.4053 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.8231 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9437 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7809 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 16.8596 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 

GBP: Profit taking pause

Sterling took a dip yesterday after the latest wage data came in lower than expected, but at 2.8%, wage growth is now just above inflation. The implication is that low levels of unemployment (42-year low) is feeding through to real wage growth. 

The Bank of England (BoE) will be aware that it needs to tread a fine line. Parts of the UK economy (retail, construction, housing) are softening but inflationary pressures are building. It’s why markets are expecting the BoE to “gradually” keep raising rates. 

Today the all-important Consumer Price Index is released. Last month inflation came in lower than expected, which was Sterling negative. We’ll find out later whether it was a blip or not. 

EUR: Germany leads the way…down

The Euro steadied yesterday but it was due to falls in Sterling and the Dollar rather than anything positive for the Euro. 

There are growing concerns that the EU’s powerhouse Germany is undergoing a downturn. Both Bloomberg and The Telegraph have highlighted the recent “data slump”. 

On Tuesday, Germany’s ZEW Survey (a sentiment gauge) fell to 5-year lows. While it’s too early to talk about recession risks, it will cement the European Central Bank’s (ECB) cautious stance. 

Today we have the Eurozone consumer price index data for March. Any signs of weakness would see the Euro under more pressure. 

USD: Bounce off lows

The US Dollar got rewarded for strong data yesterday. Better than expected housing starts and capacity utilisation brought back buyers for the Dollar which had slumped to a three-week low against a currency basket at the start of the week.

President Trump stirred up both China and Russia on Monday accusing them of “playing the Currency Devaluation game”. This infers Trump is not pushing for a stronger Dollar. He knows a weak Dollar will help bring jobs back to the US, so those expecting a big Dollar rebound may be waiting a (long) while. 

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 18th April 2018 at 10:30

£1.00 GBP = 1.1468 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.4182 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.8290 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9399 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7856 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 17.0027 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