The Pound has fared very differently against other major currencies over the past week so how this will affect any upcoming property investments will depend on the currency you need. Sterling lost 0.93 percent of its value against the Dollar but managed to gain by a very significant 1.06 percent on the Euro. This means that the Pound starts the week at the 1.62 levels on the Dollar and at the 1.14 levels against the Euro.

In truth, last week saw a fair amount of poor economic data coming out of the UK, Europe and the US so currency investors had to choose from a bad bunch – Sterling hit a three week low on the Dollar on Thursday after it emerged that manufacturing activity in the US was just slightly healthier than that in the UK. In the UK manufacturing shrank at its fastest pace for over two years with a steep drop in demand for exports. With more manufacturing figures due on Wednesday this week, it’s wise to see if these are once again negative and have an impact on Sterling.

The ongoing sovereign debt problems in Europe however are perceived as much more serious than any stagnant figures coming from the UK which therefore allowed the Pound to grow on the Euro throughout the week. Unemployment in the Euro-zone has now reached levels of 10 percent. Standard and Poor’s rating agency has also lowered their growth forecasts for Europe. It’s hopeful therefore that Sterling may continue to grow on the Euro throughout next week – this may well be dependent on figures at the start of the week that make the two economies easily comparable as PMI data on Services as well as Retail Sales figures are released from both the UK and Europe. This is before both the Bank of England as well as the European Central Bank announce their respective interest rate decisions on Thursday. This may well draw more attention to the fact that UK interest rates are expected to remain static well into 2012 or 2013 which is not good news for Sterling. However, European interest rates are similarly not expected to rise in the foreseeable future and in fact some speculation has started to circulate that they may in time need to be brought back down as the European economy struggles to cope.

There is some hope for Sterling re-strengthening against the Dollar this week as markets closed on Friday to a very negative report on US employment. We may therefore see some Dollar weakening at the start of this week. Both the US and UK trade balance figures are also due to be released at the end of the week which may help investors also interpret the health of each economy.

For further advice on how to save thousands on your property purchase compared to the bank, protect yourself from currency movements or set up regular mortgage transfers, get in touch with the dedicated Property Secrets currency specialist: Nigel Hodges of Currency Solutions on +44 (0) 207 740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.