Sterling fell sharply yesterday after Bank of England governor Mervyn King signalled that the Bank of England could launch a further programme of Quantitative Easing if needed. Earlier in the day, data showed that UK inflation came in higher than expected at 3.2%, which gave sterling a boost. However, governor King\u2019s comments wiped out these earlier gains with sterling falling to a low of $1.5843\/\u00a31 from a high of $1.6080\/\u00a31. Against the euro, sterling slipped from a high of \u20ac1.1824\/\u00a31 to a low of \u20ac1.1733\/\u00a31. A number of automatic trades triggered against the US dollar, which exacerbated the volatility and saw sterling down 1.1% on the day. Out today, we have the minutes from the Bank of England\u2019s Monetary Policy Meeting two weeks ago, which could see sterling drop even further if any other members join Adam Posen in voting for more Quantitative Easing so call in now for a live exchange rate and protect yourself from losing out.<\/p>\n
In the Euro zone, the euro had a surprise boost yesterday as the \u2018ZEW\u2019 investor sentiment figure came in much better than expected for the region which marginally helped the euro. However, Ireland and Portugal were still in the spotlight and Euro zone finance officials meet today to discuss a bailout \u2013 despite resistance from the Irish government to state wide help from the ECB, suggesting that a bank bailout is all that is needed. With the EU council President describing the EU as being in a \u201csurvival crisis\u201d, make sure you speak to one of the team about protecting yourself.<\/p>\n
In the USA, the US dollar hit a 7 week high against the euro as concerns over a deepening debt crisis in the Euro zone saw the single currency drop to below $1.35\/\u20ac1. The US dollar also strengthened against other major currencies as a result of risk aversion. In terms of data, factory gate inflation did not increase as much as had been expected \u2013 disappointing the markets with a 0.4% against an expectation of 0.7%. Data out tomorrow includes consumer inflation which is expected to come in at 0.3% on the month. Call in now for a live exchange rate.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the Canadian dollar took a tumble yesterday after concerns over falling global demand for commodities impacted expectations for Canada\u2019s major export. A move by China to stem its ballooning growth would see demand for commodities drop and impact Canada\u2019s economy. Speak to one of the team now about taking advantage.<\/p>\n
EURO\/GBP<\/strong> – 1.177
\nUS$\/GBP <\/strong>\u2013 1.586
\nCHF\/GBP <\/strong>\u2013 1.580
\nCAN$\/GBP <\/strong>– 1.626
\nAUS$\/GBP <\/strong>\u2013 1.630
\nZAR\/GBP <\/strong>\u2013 11.217
\nJPY\/GBP <\/strong>\u2013 132.33
\nHKD\/GBP <\/strong>\u2013 12.300
\nNZD\/GBP \u2013<\/strong> 2.077
\nSEK\/GBP \u2013 <\/strong>11.088
\nUS$\/EURO – <\/strong>1.347<\/p>\n