Daily Foreign Exchange Market Update

Yesterday in the foreign exchange market the Pound saw some losses against the Euro but some gains versus the US Dollar. The GBPEUR rate opened the day at 1.1680 and closed out at 1.1646 showing not a great deal of movement yesterday. The GBPUSD rate opened the day at 1.5094 and hit a daily high of 1.5144 early in the morning before it weakened slightly across the day, closing out at 1.5112. We also saw some gains in the Euro against the US Dollar yesterday with the EURUSD rate opening at 1.2922 and closing out at 1.2975.

Yesterday was a quiet day for data release with only Rightmove house prices being released which saw an increase of 1.2%.

Today we have already seen CPI (inflation) for Feb with the figure increasing by 2.8%, more than the Bank of England's target rate of 2.0%. Later today Cyprus' Parliament will vote on the Deposit Levy for the EU bail out.

This Daily Market Update is brought to you by The Market Team @ KBRFX – Exchange Rate, Currency Conversion & Foreign Currency Transfer specialists.

Daily Foreign Exchange Market Update

Yesterday the Pound saw gains against both the Euro and the US Dollar in the foreign exchange market. The GBPEUR rate opened at a daily low of 1.2305 and peaked mid-morning to 1.2332 before closing out the day lower at 1.2325. The GBPUSD rate opened at 1.6037, the lowest point of the day but gained strength across the day to close out at a daily high of 1.6102. Manufacturing PMI results were released yesterday with the figure coming out slightly higher than expected, at 49.1, but still below the 50 mark showing a contraction in that sector. It has not gone over the 50 mark since May of this year. Today the PMI for construction will be released and is set to come out slightly lower than before, at 50.7, but still showing an expansion in the construction industry.

The Euro saw losses against both the Pound and the US Dollar during yesterday’s market session. The EURUSD rate opened at 1.3032 and drifted to a daily low of 1.3026 mid-morning. It then gained some strength and hit a daily high of 1.3076 just before it closed out the day at 1.3066. Yesterday Spanish and Italian Manufacturing PMI were released and both saw a contraction in that industry. This morning we have already seen Spanish unemployment change be released and coming out much lower than expected at 74.3K, compared to the analysts’ predictions of 90K. Euro-zone Producer Price Index (PPI) will be released later showing the average change in selling prices received by domestic producers for their goods and services.

The Dollar saw losses against the Pound but gains against the Euro in the foreign exchange market yesterday. Yesterday Manufacturing PMI was released from the US and it came out lower than expected, 49.5 compared to the predictions of 51.5, the first time it has dropped below the 50 level since September. There will be no data released from the US today.

This Daily Market Update is brought to you by The Market Team @ KBRFX – Exchange Rate, Currency Conversion & Foreign Currency Transfer specialists.

Daily Foriegn Exchange Market Update

During yesterday’s market session we saw the Pound lose ground against the Euro but gain a slight amount versus the US Dollar. The GBPEUR rate opened at a daily high of 1.2459 and slipped throughout the day to close out at a daily low of 1.2419. The GBPUSD rate opened the day at 1.5902 but fell to a daily low of 1.5887 just after lunch. It regained some momentum in the afternoon, peaking at 1.5919 mid-afternoon, closing the day at 1.5907. There was no significant data released from the UK yesterday and none will come out today.

The Euro gained against the Pound and the US Dollar in the foreign exchange market yesterday with the EURUSD rate opening at a daily low of 1.2763. It then moved up to a daily high of 1.2820 an hour before it closed out at 1.2805. No data was released from the Euro-zone yesterday but today has already seen German Producer Price Index (PPI) be released; showing the change in prices paid by domestic producers, also known as the factory gate prices and the figure came out lower than expected at 1.5%. Today will also see the Euro Area finance ministers meet and discuss the goings on in the Euro-zone, focusing mainly on the Greek dilemma.

The Dollar weakened against both the Pound and the Euro in yesterday’s foreign exchange market session. The main data from the US yesterday was, existing home sales which saw a decrease from 4.79M to 4.69M. Today will see building permits be released, the number of new residential building permits issues during the previous month. It was 0.89M and is expected to fall slightly to 0.87M.

This Daily Market Update is brought to you by The Market Team @ KBRFX – Exchange Rate, Currency Conversion & Foreign Currency Transfer specialists.

Daily Foreign Exchange Market Update

Yesterday saw the Pound gain some strength against the Euro and the US Dollar in the foreign exchange market. The GBPEUR opened at 1.2406 and fell to a day low of 1.2379 at noon before picking up during the second half of trading, closing at a day high of 1.2408. The GBPUSD opened at a day low of 1.6030 gaining ground throughout the day, peaking early morning at 1.6078 and closing only slightly lower at 1.6068. No data was released yesterday from the UK.

Today the main piece of information from the UK today is the CPI results that are expected to rise by 2.2% compared to 2.5% this time last year. CPI is always a key figure as it is the main measure for inflation, tracking changes in the price of a basket of goods.

The Euro lost ground against the Pound but gained some against the US Dollar in yesterday’s market session. The EURUSD opened at a day low of 1.2920, gaining strength in the morning before peaking at noon to reach 1.2979 – closing out lower at 1.2949. Yesterday the Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso spoke in Brussels and praised the EU’s international marketplace as the ‘cornerstone of European integration and sustainable growth’ and stated that he had seen a greater degree of openness in the council recently, showing greater confidence for the Euro-zone.

Today will also see CPI data coming out of the Euro-zone with the year-on-year figure for September set to increase by 2.7%, in line with the previous year’s result.

The US Dollar lost strength against both the Pound and the Euro yesterday on the back of advanced retail sales for September being released. This monthly measure of sales and goods at retail outlets is a significant market mover with more than 10% of all US economic activity being from retail sales. The figure increased by 1.1%, more then the analyst predictions of 0.8%.

The only significant piece of data coming out today is the CPI results, like the UK and Euro-zone, and is also expected to increase, by 1.9%, only slightly higher then the 1.7% increase last September.

This Daily Market Update is brought to you by The Market Team @ KBRFX – Exchange Rate, Currency Conversion & Foreign Currency Transfer specialists.

This Daily Market Update is brought to you by The Market Team @ KBRFX – Exchange Rate, Currency Conversion & Foreign Currency Transfer specialists.

Foreign Exchange Daily Market Update 20/05/11

The Pound experienced a rebound in the exchange rate following better than expected retail sales figures for April. The Office for National Statistics reported sales in April advanced by 1.1% to beat expectations for a 0.8% rise. The increase was attributed to the recent warm weather and extra public holidays. The outcome pushed the Pound up to a high of 1.6207 versus the US Dollar and 1.1370 against the Euro. However, the rise was short-lived and by mid-afternoon the Pound had fallen back to levels in line with the open of the trading day. With Friday being devoid of UK economic figures the Pound will be subject to broad based risk sentiment on the global foreign exchange market.

Fears over the Greek debt crisis continued to weigh heavily on the Euro and without any economic data to support the single currency, price action against the Dollar was choppy. Divided opinions from ECB officials on how best to handle the turmoil in Greece only exasperated the issue. ECB board Member Nout Wellink voiced his opposition to restructuring Greece's debt, saying that such action would hurt the banking sector throughout the Euro-region and as such heighten the risks of debt contagion. Further to this Jurgern Stark of the ECB said that the central bank would not accept Greek bonds as collateral if there was a decision to lengthen the terms of Greece's debt repayments.

In a day for the foreign exchange market European figures dominate; with the economic docket having already seen Germany's Producer Price Index (PPI) for April beat analyst expectations. Producer Prices rose by 1.0% month-on-month up from 0.4% increase in March when economists had predicted 0.6% increase, while annually price growth accelerated from 6.2% to 6.4% to beat the consensus for growth to slow to 6.0%. Higher energy prices attributed to the rise in PPI as electricity prices were up by 8.5% from last year, with Crude Oil and Petrol prices rising by 17.6% and 15% respectively. This news saw the Euro rally early on, and strengthen further when March’s current account deficit for the Euro-zone narrowed from a downwardly revised €8.9 billion to €3.8 billion. The trading week will close with May’s Euro-zone consumer confidence, which is expected to show that sentiment has worsened since April with the index falling from -11.6 to -12.0. A negative outcome could lead the Euro to lose some of this morning’s gains.

Yesterday’s US docket provided a mixed outlook for the currency exchange market. On the one hand jobless claims provided an improved outlook for the US labour market as claims fell below the expected levels, with first time claims falling to 409,000 from 438,000. However, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed that existing home sales in April unexpectedly contracted by 0.8% despite forecasts calling for a 0.2% increase. Furthermore, May's reading for the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index fell way below the expected score of 20.0 to come in at 3.9. This reading was down heavily from the previous score of 18.5 in April. Ultimately the news lead the Dollar lower against the other major currencies with the GBP/USD rate rising to 1.6235 and EUR/USD pushing up to a high of 1.4316. As the US calendar effectively ended on Thursday, price action for the Dollar is likely to remain subdued heading into the weekend.