EURO\/GBP – 1.1930
US$\/GBP \u2013 1.6202
CHF\/GBP \u2013 1.5411
CAN$\/GBP – 1.5911
AUS$\/GBP \u2013 1.6009
ZAR\/GBP \u2013 11.6580
JPY\/GBP \u2013 135.023
HKD\/GBP \u2013 12.6108
NZD\/GBP \u2013 2.1251
SEK\/GBP \u2013 10.3992
US$\/EURO – 1.3575<\/p>\n
The rollercoaster ride for sterling continued yesterday, as a speech by Bank of England policymaker Andrew Sentance reignited speculation over interest rate hikes. As a result, sterling strengthened back up against the US dollar and euro. Sentance, who has been calling for an interest rate hike since June 2010, made it clear that there are numerous risks that will add to inflation and as such, interest rates need to rise faster than many think in order to filter through to the real economy and keep inflation on target. The constant back and forth over interest rate expectations is causing sterling movement on a day by day basis as sentiment shifts between swift interest rate hikes or no action from the Bank of England. Any feeling that interest rates will rise soon sees sterling strength and expectations that policy will remain unchanged will see sterling fall. Today, there are retail sales and mortgage data which is potentially market moving. Next week, the Bank of England\u2019s minutes from last week\u2019s meeting will be closely watched.<\/p>\n
In the euro zone, reminding us that inflation is not just an issue faced by the UK, German producer price (or \u201cfactory gate\u201d) inflation has shown a 1.2% jump on the month \u2013 far more than the modest 0.6% gain that was expected. Unlike the UK, wage inflation is on the up \u2013 driven by union demands within the auto-manufacturing sector. This brings the possibility of an interest rate hike in the euro zone into play and as such, risk appetite for investors has already improved. Call in now for a live exchange rate.<\/p>\n
In the USA, the US dollar held near 2 week lows against the Swiss franc yesterday as the Swiss currency saw demand related to the situation in the Middle East. Anti-government protestors from Bahrain to Iran hoped to emulate their counterparts in Tunisia and Egypt and as such, as is normal in times of geopolitical tension, the Swiss franc sees \u2018safe haven\u2019 demand. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks today, so call in now for a live exchange rate.<\/p>\n