After a less-than-impressive few days for the EUR/GBP pairing the common currency was finally able to post a notable advance on the Pound as the Bank of England and European Central Banks delivered their rate decisions.
The Bank of England opted to hold rates and leave the level of asset purchases unchanged, while Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced upward revisions to UK growth forecasts during his Autumn Statement.
Despite the comparatively upbeat outlook the decision to leave interest rates at record lows pushed the Pound lower against its main peers.
The Euro is currently trading against the Pound in the region of 0.8341
The Euro, on the other hand, enjoyed widespread gains as the European Central Bank offered no hint of the prospect of introducing a negative deposit rate.
As one London-based currency strategist notes; ‘It’s what Draghi didn’t say that is pushing the Euro higher. There is no indication of negative deposit rates or further easing.’
In the aftermath of ECB President Mario Draghi’s press conference the Euro managed to edge up to a five-week high against the US Dollar, despite the American asset being supported by better-than-forecast domestic data.
The ECB held the benchmark interest rate at 0.25 per cent, as expected, and positively revised its growth forecasts for the 17-nation currency bloc.
The central bank now envisages growth of 1.1 per cent in 2014 following contraction of 0.4 per cent in 2013.
With the weekend fast approaching additional movement in the EUR/GBP pairing could occur tomorrow as a result of UK inflation data and German factory orders figures.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 15:05 GMT
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3642 >
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8341 >
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5121 >
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6698 >
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4563 >
