Good morning and welcome to today\u2019s foreign exchange market commentary on Monday the 19th of December.<\/p>\n
We start the week on a positive note. The reason? Well, the much anticipated ratings downgrade of France didn\u2019t take place on Friday. Rather Fitch chose to spare France with a negative outlook rating only. That must have been a big relief for president Sarkozy. It remains to be seen however, whether the other two agencies \u2013 Standard and Poor\u2019s and Moody\u2019s, also follow suit or actually downgrades France by one notch. The other development for today is the news of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il\u2019s demise. Though the country stands isolated and doesn\u2019t influence the global economy much, it\u2019s history of launching sudden unprovoked attacks on South Korea does rattle the markets.<\/p>\n
Coming back to Friday\u2019s developments, there were rumours of Italy and Spain being downgraded after the close of the European session. However, it was actually Belgium that bore the brunt and was lowered by two notches by Moody\u2019s. The ratings agency cited rising borrowing costs and the enormous liability due to the failure of Dexia bank.<\/p>\n
Fitch, on the other hand, placed Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Slovenia and Cyprus on a negative watch list for a possible downgrade next month. Chances of a resolution to the region\u2019s debt crisis are technically and politically beyond reach, the agency warned. <\/p>\n
GBP\/EURO \u2013 1.1910
\nGBP\/US$ \u2013 1.5526
\nGBP\/CHF \u2013 1.4536
\nGBP\/CAN$ – 1.6092
\nGBP\/AUS$ \u2013 1.5594
\nGBP\/ZAR \u2013 12.9528
\nGBP\/JPY \u2013 120.85
\nGBP\/HKD \u2013 12.0769
\nGBP\/NZD \u2013 2.0390
\nGBP\/SEK \u2013 10.7435<\/p>\n