The Pound Sterling (GBP) has risen by 0.3% against the Euro (GBP/EUR) today, however Sterling has made no progress against the US Dollar (GBP/USD), remaining at -0.2%.
All Eyes on Threadneedle Street as BoE Interest Rate Announcement is Impending
The Pound Sterling’s (GBP) positive progress against the Euro (GBP/EUR) today can be partially attributed to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predicting a 0.5% estimate for the next UK GDP posting; while obviously a decline from the previous 0.7%, the small gap between the two figures has apparently satisfied speculators with regards to the UK’s economic future.
This result was just the tip of the data iceberg, however; tomorrow sees the announcement of the Bank of England’s (BoE) interest rate decision and more importantly, the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) minutes regarding the decision. No change is expected from the current 0.50%, but anything resembling hawkish views from MPC members will help the Pound immeasurably against the Euro (GBP/EUR) and the US Dollar (GBP/USD). Notably, the BoE MPC contains a new member this time round – Dr Gertjan Vlieghe, who has replaced departing Professor David Miles.
Earlier…
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) and Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rates have both declined today by -0.2%. This follows the UK trade deficit widening along with disappointing outcomes in the annual UK Industrial and Manufacturing Production figures for July.
GBP Could Remain in the Negative Until BoE Decision Tomorrow
The only remaining piece of Pound-centric (GBP) data out today is the NIESR GDP Estimate for August; if this prediction is hawkish then the Pound may experience a minor rise, although the biggest impending news is the Bank of England (BoE) interest rate decision that will be revealed tomorrow.
Earlier…
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate has risen considerably today, as has the GBP/USD conversion rate. This comes as a continuation of the surprise GBP rally that started yesterday.
GBP/EUR, GBP/USD Exchange Rate News: Sterling Triumphs in spite of Lacking Economic Data
The Pound Sterling (GBP) has repeated its phenomenal performance from yesterday by advancing universally against rivals today. This came along with the support of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), who stated that ‘The latest data is consistent with our view that the outlook for the domestic economy remains solid in the second half of the year.’ The CBI also positively revised their forecasts for business investment and consumer spending in the remainder of 2015. As with yesterday, the greatest contributor to the Pound’s uptrend today has been the news that Glencore will be selling off countless assets and closing mines in a bid to lower its current debts. The only real UK data today was the BRC Like-for-Like annual sales figure for August, which fell by -1%.
The Pound has risen by 0.6% against the Euro (GBP/EUR), 0.8% against the US Dollar (GBP/USD) and has elsewhere advanced by over 0.7% against the Egyptian Pound (GBP/EGP), the Swiss Franc (GBP/CHF), the Chinese Yuan (GBP/CNY), the Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) and the Thai Baht (GBP/THB).
Euro Displays Mixed Faring after Eurozone GDP Results, US Dollar Declines during Lull in Data
The Euro (EUR) has displayed an uncertain performance today, despite the Eurozone annual GDP showing an increase from 1.2% to 1.5% today. This may be due in part to the monthly figure, which fell from 0.5% to 0.4%, however this was better than the forecast 0.3%. The Euro has fallen by -0.3% against the Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD) and by -0.6% against the Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP), although it has also risen by 0.2% against the Swiss Franc (EUR/CHF) and the US Dollar (EUR/USD) and by 0.7% against the Japanese Yen (EUR/JPY).
The US Dollar’s (USD) performance has been decidedly more consistent today – it has fallen across almost the entire board. This comes largely from a lack of US data yesterday due to Labour Day and a relatively minor set of releases out today. With nothing with which to base a prediction on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, speculation has turned sour and devalued the ‘Buck’ accordingly. The US Dollar has fallen by -0.2% against the Euro (USD/EUR), -0.8% against the Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) and has also dropped by over -0.5% against the Australian Dollar (USD/AUD) and the Norwegian Krone (USD/NOK). The only real gain for the ‘Greenback’ has been by 0.5% in the ‘Ninja’ pairing (USD/JPY).
GBP/EUR, GBP/USD Exchange Rate Forecast: Lack of Hard Data means Current Rates unlikely to Change until Tomorrow
The UK and the Eurozone have no further major data releases today and the only upcoming US data covers the Labour Market Conditions Index Change and Consumer Credit results for August and July. Tomorrow brings the UK Trade Balances and the US Mortgage Applications data, although the only predictions made have been pessimistic against the UK results.
Current GBP, EUR, USD Exchange Rates
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.3777, the Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.7258, the Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.5375, the US Dollar to Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.6504, the Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.1161 and the US Dollar to Euro (USD/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.8963 today.
