The Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) exchange rate has declined notably today, with the weight of impending announcements from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi dragging the Euro’s (EUR) value down against other rivals as well.
EUR/GBP Exchange Rate News: Greek Shutdown Dampens the Mood Ahead of ECB Announcement
The Euro (EUR) has been in a state of decline for much of the morning and this condition is only likely to worsen in the future. At present, the Euro has fallen by -0.4% against the Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP), -0.7% against the New Zealand Dollar (EUR/NZD) and the South African Rand (EUR/ZAR) and -0.8% against the Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD).
Today’s detrimental data releases have been worse-than-expected Composite and Services PMIs for most of the Eurozone in November (barring Germany), along with a slowdown in Retail Sales for the Eurozone as a whole in October. Additionally, Greek citizens are undergoing a general strike in protest against the pensions reforms included with the third Greek bailout requirements.
Mixed Performance from Pound Sterling (GBP) Following Last UK PMIs of the Week
The Pound Sterling (GBP) has risen by 0.5% against the Euro (GBP/EUR) today, with fluctuations being recorded elsewhere against other economic rivals. The Pound has risen by over 0.5% against the Hungarian Forint (GBP/HUF) and the Russian Ruble (GBP/RUB), but has dropped by -0.2% against the South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) and the New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) and -0.4% against the Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD).
The Pound has been supported today by better-than-expected increases in the UK Composite and Services PMIs for November, but has been devalued by the recent expansion of UK airstrikes in Syria, which have initially targeted oil production and therefore driven up the cost of the commodity. This is still superior to yesterday’s faring of Sterling against the Euro.
EUR/GBP Exchange Rate Forecast: Potential Damage Control from Draghi, Weak End-of-Week Data for UK
The near-future will be momentous for the Euro, as it will see Mario Draghi’s announcement of the decided upon adjustments to stimulus measures. According to Societe Generale Currency Strategist Kit Juckes: ‘We expect a 10bp cut in the ECB’s Deposit Rate to -0.3% at today’s meeting, more asset purchases (an increase of €10-20bn per month to €70-80bn, including a shift to widen the universe of bonds bought)…the reference to continuing purchases until September 2016 may be dropped.’
The Pound (GBP) will have significantly less representation, as the only UK data due before the weekend is tomorrow’s New Car Registrations on the year in November, which had no predictions assigned to it at the time of writing.
Current EUR, GBP Exchange Rates
The Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.7069 and the Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.4150 today.
