The Pound Sterling (GBP) has risen against both the Euro (GBP/EUR) and the US Dollar (GBP/USD) today, something that has come in spite of no UK-specific data releases.
Eurozone and the US to Take Charge Next Week as UK Data is Few and Far Between
The UK has scant few high-impact results due next week, therefore the Eurozone PMI results and the US Durable Goods Orders will be the biggest affecters of the Pound (GBP) next week, among other results. The US has a particularly full calendar in store, as a number of key Federal Reserve officials are due to give speeches throughout the United States across the week.
The Fed has been at the centre of attention yesterday and today due to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) interest rate decision – matching with the predictions of most economists, the Fed did not raise the US interest rate. As a result, the US Dollar (USD) dived in value substantially yesterday and has continued to do so today.
Earlier…
The Pound Sterling (GBP) has had a mixed performance today, trending in a narrow range against the Euro (GBP/EUR) and posting a 0.2% rise against the US Dollar (GBP/USD).
FOMC Decision Set to make US Dollar Soar or Plummet; Current GBP/EUR Stalemate to Continue
Neither the Pound Sterling (GBP) nor the Euro (EUR) have any economic publications of especial note for release before the weekend, therefore the US Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) Interest Rate Decision will be the next big event in the relationship between the three pairings. If the FOMC raises the interest rate by even 0.1, it is likely that support for the ‘Buck’ (USD) will skyrocket; this will naturally send the GBP/USD and EUR/USD exchange rates down.
On the other hand, if the Fed holds off and doesn’t indicate that a rate hike will take place before 2016, the ‘Greenback’ is likely to take a tumble, with the pseudo safe-haven Euro potentially rising in value and taking its place, for a little while at least.
Earlier…
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate advanced tremendously today along with the Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate. This is owing to the recent batch of (mostly) positive UK results and the virtual opposite for the EUR and USD.
GBP/EUR, GBP/USD Exchange Rate News: Sterling has a Bull Run as UK Jobs Data Makes up for Inflation Dip
The Pound Sterling (GBP) has risen against most of its competition today, not least by 0.8% against the Euro (GBP/EUR) and by 0.4% against the US Dollar (GBP/USD). Elsewhere, the Pound has risen by over 0.8% against the Danish Krone (GBP/DKK), the Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK), the Polish Zloty (GBP/PLN) and the Romanian Leu (GBP/RON). The only real losses for Sterling today have been by -0.2% against the Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) and by -0.9% against the Russian Ruble (GBP/RUB).
The Pound has been most heavily assisted today by the domestic UK Claims, Earnings and Employment data. The Unemployment Rate for the three months through July fell from 5.6% to 5.5%, the Employment Change figure for the same period showed a rise of 42k persons, and the annual Average Weekly Earnings result for the three months to the end of July indicated that average wage increases rose from 2.6% to 2.9%. Claims were more of a mixed bag; the Claimant Count Rate for August remained at 2.3%, but the number of Jobless Claims for August rose by 1.2k claimants. Overall, however, the reception was extremely positive and caused Sterling’s mass rise today.
Common Currency has a Day to Forget, US Dollar Remains Unstable ahead of Vital FOMC Rate Vote
The Euro (EUR) has fallen across the board today, having experienced a reversal of the Pound’s (GBP) situation. The only major Eurozone data today, the CPIs for August, showed declines in the place of forecast stagnation, although the monthly inflation rate did improve somewhat from a previous -0.6% in July to 0% last month. As a result of this disappointing performance, the single currency dropped by more than -0.4% against the US Dollar (EUR/USD), the New Zealand Dollar (EUR/NZD), the Canadian Dollar (EUR/CAD) and the South African Rand (EUR/ZAR). The worst rates for the Euro were -0.8% against the Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) and -1% against the Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD).
The US Dollar (USD) has been in something of a rut as well today, falling by -0.3% against the South African Rand (USD/ZAR), -0.4% against the Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) and -0.6% against the Australian Dollar (USD/AUD). On the other side of the cent, the ‘Buck’ has seen gains of over 0.3% against the Polish Zloty (USD/PLN), 0.4% against the Euro (USD/EUR) and 0.5% against the Norwegian Krone (USD/NOK). This mixed state of play has come from yesterday’s depressing batch of US results, which showed a decline in US consumer spending and industrial output ahead of a vital decision by the Fed tomorrow.
GBP, EUR, USD Forecast: FOMC Decision to Overshadow UK and Eurozone Results Tomorrow
The UK, Eurozone and US all have releases of significance tomorrow, although whoever wins the early battle between the Pound Sterling (GBP) and the Euro (EUR) is likely to be quashed by the US Dollar (USD) in the event of a US interest rate hike by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The European Central Bank’s (ECB) Economic Bulletin may give the Euro an early lead, as long as it doesn’t hint at quantitative easing being expanded, but the closely following UK Retail Sales figures could burst any Euro-optimism if they impress. As mentioned, the FOMC decision is likely to have a massive impact on the faring of the ‘Greenback’, given that forecasts this week have the FOMC raising interest rates from 0.25% to between 0.38% and 0.44%.
Live GBP, EUR, USD Exchange Rates
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.3727, the Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.7286, the Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.5421, the US Dollar to Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.6486, the Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.1234, and the US Dollar to Euro (USD/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.8904 today.
