24/07/2012

EURO/GBP - 1.2790
US$/GBP - 1.5506
CHF/GBP - 1.5368
CAN$/GBP - 1.5798
AUS$/GBP - 1.5065
ZAR/GBP - 13.0865
JPY/GBP - 121.44
HKD/GBP - 12.0406
NZD/GBP - 1.9606
SEK/GBP - 10.7727
AED/GBP - 5.6981
US$/EURO - 1.2122
INR/GBP - 86.81


To request a up-to-the minute quotation, call 0845 638 0571 or (+44 207 898 0500 from outside the UK) or fill out our quote form: http://www.smartcurrencybusiness.com/quote1.htm

Sterling had a poor day yesterday, losing ground against the majority of currencies after hitting fresh highs of €1.2875/£1 against the euro in the morning; but, remained strong against the Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and South African rand as risk aversion dominated the market. UK 10 year bond yields dropped to record lows of 1.44% highlighting the concerns of investors’ looking for a safer haven for their money. With very little data out today, the focus will remain on Greece, Spain and Italy to influence risk sentiment; so, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The euro had a mixed day yesterday, dropping below the 1.21 mark against the US dollar before recovering in the afternoon. The main data released yesterday was the Consumer Confidence figures from July which are at the lowest level since August 2009. Concerns regarding Greece, Spain and Italy were at the forefront of traders' minds yesterday, with the markets so volatile that Italian regulators banned short selling (where traders bet on a stock price dropping) until the end of the week whilst Spain banned short selling on all stocks for three months and this ban could be extended further. Fears that Spain may need a full international government bailout drove Spanish 10-year bonds to a new euro-era high of 7.565% yesterday; well above the 7% level which is deemed unsustainable for government debt repayments, whilst the Spanish IBEX stock market fell to the lowest point since 2003. Greek default concerns came to light again with rumours of a Greek exit as the Greek creditors (The European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) arrived in Athens to discuss the countries fiscal imbalance. More bad news came over night as Moody’s (one of the big three credit rating agencies) placed the Netherlands, Luxembourg and most influentially Germany’s debt ratings on a negative outlook. Out today, the services and manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) figures across Europe will be released, the vast majority of which are expected to show a contraction. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The US dollar performed fairly well yesterday as investors’ sought safer havens for their money due to the on-going problems that Europe faces. Out today, Manufacturing PMI data will be released and the Chairman of the Federal Bank is also speaking; but, the focus will remain firmly on Europe. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

Elsewhere, the suggestion from a member of China’s central bank that growth in the world's second largest economy would continue to slow down, damaged market sentiment further and caused the commodity backed currencies to be sold off with the South African rand, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar particularly weak. The Japanese yen was the best performing currency yesterday due to its safe haven status. Chinese manufacturing PMI was released first thing this morning and the Governor for the Reserve Bank of Australia was also speaking whilst Canadian core retail sales will be released later on this afternoon. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.


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