Sterling has now held at above the key 1.20 level against the Euro for three weeks which is good news for those of you needing a Sterling to Euro transfer. Sterling is only just hanging on by the skin of its teeth however, as we start this week with the currency at the 1.203 level on the Euro having fallen by 0.31 percent overall throughout the week.

This is due to the Euro’s minor rally in the second half of the week. After Euro-zone nations were plagued with credit rating downgrades in the first half of the week, there was a change in fortune for the Euro as news became more positive; the European Central Bank took moves to inject more cash in funds designed to prevent the spread of debt and hopes rose that Greece will avoid a default. This kind of news meant that ‘risk-appetite’ increased allowing the Euro to experience some small upwards movement.

This same ‘risk-appetite’ allowed Sterling to experience much more than a small upwards climb on the US Dollar, rising by 1.68 percent over the course of the week to a rate of 1.556. Despite the news that positive economic data came out of the US, such as falling unemployment, the Dollar fared badly because it’s position as a ‘safe haven’ currency was not as important to investors throughout last week as it has been with the Euro and Sterling becoming more attractive choices. This means that the Pound is now at a two week high on the US currency, so anyone needing a Sterling to Dollar transfer soon, should consider the news that we have currently moved up to a better position and there is no telling how long this will last.

The Pound remains precarious as there are still concerns over the fragile UK economy which is itself vulnerable to problems in Europe. It is still thought likely that more monetary stimulus in the form of Quantitative Easing, will be introduced by the Bank of England, as early as February. This is expected to cause Sterling to weaken when it happens and last week’s news that UK inflation fell in December down to 4.2 percent has only strengthened speculation that such a move will come soon. Two events this week will help determine whether more Quantitative Easing is likely – namely UK GDP data and the Bank of England minutes from the last policy meeting which are released on Wednesday. GDP figures are expected to show that the economy shrank in the last quarter of 2011. If the minutes also help to suggest that discussion took place at the last meeting to suggest that Quantitative Easing is on its way soon, the Pound may experience some downwards pressure from Wednesday onwards. As ever, please feel free to give me a call to discuss how currency movements may affect your transfers or for advice on how to fix an exchange rate in advance to protect yourself from the current volatility.

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.

At last! Sterling has pushed up through the key area of resistance of 1.20 on the Euro to a sixteen month high. I reported in my last two blogs that Sterling was heading towards 1.20 so it’s great news for all of you needing a Sterling to Euro transfer that we’ve gone through this key level. We start the week with Sterling at a midmarket rate of 1.214 on the Euro so if you do have any transfers to make now is a good time to think about whether you want to book them – or fix the current rate for a future transfer.

As ever, Sterling’s position on the Euro comes with a word of warning. Many commentators are still reporting that the current exchange rate is due to the economic woes in Europe rather than any perceived strength in the UK. This is of course also indicated by the fact that again, Sterling has dropped against the US Dollar. This week the drop was by 0.73 percent meaning that the Pound is down to a mid-market rate of 1.541 on the US currency.

The fact that data on ‘non-farm payrolls’, a key indicator of the employment situation in US, improved this week helped the US Dollar. US ‘jobless’ levels were also down to a three and half year low giving fresh hope that the US economy will perform better in 2012. There was some marginally better data from the UK, such as a pick up in the services sector, but this was over-shadowed by falling house prices and poor manufacturing data. If the UK does return to recession, which many are expecting, we would expect there to be downwards pressure on the Pound so it is likely to be a volatile year ahead. The only thing at present that can be predicted as possibly enabling Sterling to pick up against the US Dollar is monetary policy – if the US is seen as being slow to act whereas the Bank of England show strong decisive action, there may be some hope for a turn around in fortune.

What’s on the cards for this week? The Euro may well deteriorate further with Italian and Spanish debt auctions due to take place.  There are more UK house prices due however, which if they follow suit with last week will do the Pound no favours. The UK trade balance on Wednesday, and US and European trade balances on Friday will allow markets to easily compare the health of these three economies so could bring some movement. Most of all, it’s important to watch out for the UK and European interest rate decisions on Thursday. Although no changes to policy are expected in the UK (more quantitative easing has been ear-marked for next month) any surprises or changes from Europe could have a big impact. Feel free to give me a call for a free quote on any kind of bank to bank currency transfer or to discuss how to protect yourself from currency volatility.

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.

Happy New Year to everyone. 2012 is no doubt going to be an interesting year for currency markets with the global economic situation and ongoing crisis in Europe set to bring more seismic shifts in exchange rates.

In my last blog before Christmas, I reported that Sterling was edging towards 1.20 on the Euro. With light trading over the Christmas and New Year holidays, we start this week with the Pound at a similar level on the Euro – currently at around the midmarket rate of 1.999. As the Euro crisis continues and European leaders continue to try to work together to find a solution, we are likely to see continued downwards pressure on the Euro. As it has been widely reported in the news, its performance has been particularly poor on the Japanese Yen (the ultimate safe haven currency) with the single currency falling by a huge 4.66 percent on the Yen in the last month.

Whilst Sterling has held against the Euro, it has continued to drop off against the US Dollar, dropping off by 0.31 percent over the past week to around a two and a half month low. The US Dollar continues to be favoured even more than the Pound as an alternative for the Euro with a stream of funds going into US Dollars.

The good news for those of you hoping for a strong Pound to start this year is that the Bank of England minutes that came out before Christmas, did at least not knock the Pound as some had feared. There were concerns that any discussion within the minutes of plans for more quantitative easing in the UK could put downwards pressure on Sterling. In the event, the Bank of England minutes did discuss quantitative easing. Although no policy members had voted for more quantitative easing, the minutes revealed growing support for such a move possibly in February. This seemed to be largely shrugged off by markets however with no blips showing in the Pound’s strength. This could of course alter as such a move draws nearer meaning the Pound could stumble lower in the coming months once more quantitative easing is announced. On a more positive note, UK public sector net borrowing figures have come in slightly better than expected meaning that the UK budget situation shows signs of improvement.

The first week of the year starts with UK PMI manufacturing, construction and services data from Tuesday to Thursday which is treated as a key indicator of UK financial health and therefore taken seriously by currency markets. There is also UK mortgage data on Wednesday as well as plenty of European data to end the week on Friday including consumer confidence, economic confidence, retail sales figures and unemployment figures. All of this may bring about movements affecting exchange rates so feel free to give me a call about how this may affect any upcoming transfers or if you would like any currency advice for property investments in to 2012.

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.

Sterling is in a very similar position to that which I described in my last blog – still holding within sight of a ten month high on the Euro but continuing to drop off against the US Dollar. We start the Christmas week with Sterling at the mid-market levels of 1.191 on the Euro and 1.554 on the US Dollar.

Currency movements are still being completely dominated by the situation in Europe. This means unfortunately that Sterling’s rise on the Euro is not being attributed to perceived strength in the UK economy (although UK retail sales data this week was positive) but rather that investors are seeking alternatives to the risky Euro. This explains why Sterling has managed to gain an impressive 1.77 percent on the Euro over the course of the past week whilst dropping by 0.8 percent on the Dollar which is perceived as much ‘safer’ than Sterling. This is also reflected in the Euro’s drop against the Dollar which is much larger than that against Sterling – a huge 2.57 percent over the course of the past week.

If you are going to need a Sterling to Euro transfer therefore, the message is still very much that there is no certainty about how long this position of strength may last. The Sterling to Euro 1.20 rate is also a key area of resistance that may be difficult for Sterling to break through. On the other hand, with nearly all the credit rating agencies downgrading European banks, and reviewing the ratings of nations such as France, it may be that if the European situation continues to deteriorate, the Pound could gain even more. This will also largely be dependent on whether robust new agreements are formed between political leaders about the Euro zone bailout fund and financial mechanisms to help restore the health of the Euro zone. At present, the main result of the hype in the press about the UK veto-ing changes to the treaty, and lack of unity between nations, is likely to be continued downwards pressure on the Euro.

The Pound hit a two month low against the US Dollar on Wednesday and it will again be news in the Euro-zone that continues to be the main driver of this currency pairing. There will however be a bit more of a spotlight on the UK this week with house prices coming out on Monday and the big event – the Bank of England minutes from the last policy meeting revealed on Wednesday. If this reveals that there is growing support among policy makers to introduce more quantitative easing in the Uk, it could be that Sterling loses some momentum on the Euro. European economic confidence figures and UK GDP figures on Thursday could also bring some movement.

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.

Sterling has re-cooperated from the seven week low against the US Dollar that I reported in last week’s blog and held its position against the Euro. It was a busy week with many economic events taking place against the increasing rumble - fast becoming a deafening roar - of the Euro zone crisis.

To start with the UK and Sterling. Data painted a slightly healthier view of the UK economy showing that house prices edged up and mortgage approval rates hit their highest in two years. The big UK event of the week however was the Chancellor’s autumn budget report.  This slashed growth prospects for the UK with GDP growth in the UK now expected to be 0.9 percent in 2011 and 0.7 percent in 2012, well below the previous predictions of 1.7 percent and 2.5 percent.  The report also raised Government borrowing targets. Taking all this into account, it may be a surprise that Sterling did not plummet.

However, the Chancellor also outlined the ways that the problems will be tackled. The report suggested that tougher austerity measures will continue for longer. This may help to safe-guard the UK’s triple A credit rating and encourage the Pound to continue to be used as a ‘safe-haven’ currency as the Euro enters increasing turmoil. Sterling starts the week at a rate of 1.163 against the Euro and 1.563 against the US Dollar.

Moving on to the Euro, you can’t have missed the hype over problems in the Euro zone over the past week, but just to re-cap some of the major developments; manufacturing fell to its lowest levels in twenty eight months, unemployment grew and Italy sold debt at historically high yields which has strengthened anxiety that other Euro-nations won’t be able to sell their debt. The fact that European leaders are failing to negotiate a way to handle the crisis explains why Sterling is managing to hold against the Euro. Although the UK is looking increasingly likely to return to recession and is itself vulnerable to what is happening in Europe, a strict austerity plan is being managed whereas chaos is seemingly ensuing in Europe. All eyes will be on this Friday’s European summit which may reveal whether European leaders have managed to agree an approach to stem the crisis.

The US Dollar and other major safe-haven currencies are continuing to benefit from the chaos in Europe. There was also better news for the US economy this week as unemployment dropped. Sterling managed to re-coup some of its recent losses on the Dollar this week however if you are investing in US property and will be needing an exchange into Dollars, it’s important to remember that the position against the Dollar is still very fragile. The Dollar is likely to remain a safer choice for currency investors than Sterling throughout the Euro crisis. Ratings agency Fitch also warned on Tuesday that the UK Government needs to be taking consistently pro-active austerity steps to ensure that the UK doesn’t lose its triple A credit rating. If this were ever to happen, the Pound would be very likely to weaken.

Coming up this week are the monetary policy decisions from the UK and Europe on Thursday. Should any more quantitative easing be introduced in the UK, Sterling could become a little shaky. The UK trade balance on Friday could also make Sterling vulnerable if it indicates worse deficit trade figures than officially forecasted. If you are looking at property investment in either New Zealand or Canada, look out for New Zealand’s interest rate decision on Thursday and Canada’s interest rate decision on Tuesday which may affect exchange rates. Other than that, all eyes will be tuned to ongoing events in Europe and whether leaders can reveal a positive plan as the EU summit starts on Friday.

With so much going on with global markets at present, it can understandably be a very anxious time for anyone wanting to make a currency transfer. Please feel free to discuss any upcoming transfers you have with me whether they be due in the next few weeks, months or years.

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.

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The situation in Europe is continuing to dominate currency markets. I reported last week how currency investors were continuing to give Sterling ‘the benefit of the doubt’ against the Euro as it had managed to hold its recent highs against the currency – rather than becoming susceptible to the chaos in Europe itself due to the UK’s own close links with the Euro-zone.

This is still just about holding true. Sterling dropped overall by a very minimal 0.16 percent on the Euro meaning that we start this week at around a mid-market rate of 1.166. More pressure was put on the Euro last week as Italian borrowing costs soared, Fitch ratings agency downgraded Portugal and concerns heightened over a lack of progress between European nations on how to temper the Euro zone debt crisis.

Although this helped to ensure that Sterling maintained its position on the Euro, it had the adverse effect on Sterling’s position against the Dollar (as well as all other ‘safe haven’ currencies such as the Japanese Yen). Sterling plummeted by a huge 2.31 percent on the Dollar over the course of the week to a seven week low. This means that we kick off this week with Sterling at a mid-market rate of 1.543 against the US currency. If you have US Dollars to transfer back to Sterling this is fantastic news about the way the markets seem to be heading – however if you need a Sterling to Dollar transfer in the next few months, it may be a good idea to speak to me about the protective measures you can take to safeguard yourself from further drops.

This fall against the Dollar happened despite some improvements in key UK economic data last week – figures for UK mortgage approvals and the Government’s public borrowing came in better than expected. Similarly, the Bank of England minutes revealed that no more policy makers had yet voted for another increase in quantitative easing to shore up the economy which should have helped to ease concerns that this will happen as soon as some thought. This all confirms the overall picture at the moment, that the global economy and in particular, developments in Europe are dominating currency movements, more than internal economic news from the UK itself.

Saying this however, next week offers an interesting mix of economic events and news. Euro-zone finance ministers are meeting again to discuss the bail-out fund but the chances of them making a significant announcement is not very high. It may be therefore that Sterling can manage to hold against the Euro if lack of progress in Europe remains the major concern.

UK events however may also be thrust further into the limelight next week, with the autumn budget report due. This is expected to outline the challenges ahead for the Government and lower expectations for how well the UK may meet its deficit targets. This could be a firmer signal to investors of troubles inherent in the UK economy and put even more pressure on Sterling against the Dollar and other safe haven currencies that are rapidly building strength due to the uncertainty over the Euro zone. Hometrack, Nationwide and Halifax house prices are also coming out over the course of the week which could highlight further weakness in the UK property market and have a negative impact on Sterling.

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.

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A very unhealthy picture of the UK economy was painted this week. As I reported may be the case in last week’s blog, the Bank of England Inflation Report published on Wednesday left a damaging impression of the UK economy with it highlighting that more quantitative easing is likely to be introduced and growth forecasts were also reduced. Taken alongside dire news on unemployment which has reached a fifteen year high, and news that consumer confidence hit record lows in October, the one small piece of good news from the UK – an increase in retail sales – seemed very insignificant.

The effect of all of this on the Pound showed itself much more acutely against the US Dollar and other safe-haven currencies than the single currency. Against the US Dollar, Sterling fell by an enormous 1.62 percent over the course of the week, meaning that we start this week at around a rate of 1.578 on the US currency. This is clearly mirroring Sterling’s fall against the Japanese Yen, another of the world’s largest ‘safe-haven’ currencies which it fell against by 1.91 percent, revealing how damaging last week’s UK economic data was.

Fortunately for those interested in Sterling’s performance against the Euro, the Pound has managed to almost hold its position overall that it reached following the previous two weeks of consecutive climbs. In last week’s blog, I reported that the Pound had reached levels of 1.169 on the Euro and we start this week at a rate of 1.168 so the overall movement is almost flat at 0%. Sterling is therefore managing to hold on to a strong position against the Euro, despite plummeting against other major currencies. This is because the dramatic events unfolding in Europe are causing currency investors to exit the Euro and hold them in Sterling using the Pound as a form of safe-haven instead.

Berlusconi’s resignation and the approval of austerity measures in Italy, gave some very short lived confidence back to the Euro on Monday. This soon dissipated however, and the situation remains very precarious. This will not necessarily continue to play out in Sterling’s favour however, as many economists are starting to point out the increased risks that this may being to the UK due to the UK’s close trading and financial links with Europe. If the European debt crisis continues to spiral, the impact on the UK economic recovery may become more and more real – at present, many economists are describing the Sterling – Euro situation as indicating that Sterling is being given ‘the benefit of the doubt’ by currency investors. If you have a Sterling to Euro transfer to make in the upcoming months therefore, it may be worth considering using a forward contract to secure the kinds of exchange rates we are seeing now as there are no guarantees about how long these will last. Feel free to give me a call to discuss.

There is some significant UK data to watch out for this week, which could have an effect on exchange rates, alongside continuing developments in the Eurozone. House price figures on Monday and an update on the amount of public sector net borrowing on Tuesday will kick off the week. One of the most significant events however, will be the release of the Bank of England minutes on Wednesday. These will reveal whether any more members in the Bank of England have voted in favour of more quantitative easing to help shore up the economy – if this is the case, Sterling could potentially lose some momentum.

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.

Anyone who has seen a TV or newspaper over the past week will have seen that the financial position of Italy and build-up to Berlusconi’s resignation became something of a news sensation. It won’t surprise you to hear therefore that Sterling saw its chance and took it – rising for a second week on the Euro to some of the best levels seen in eight months. Sterling starts the week at around a level of 1.169 on the single currency. It also rose against the US Dollar by 0.21 percent over all, meaning that it has now just about tipped over the mid-market rate of 1.60.

All very good news if you want to buy property in either the US or Europe and need to convert Sterling into Dollars or Euros. Sterling also benefited from the Bank of England monthly monetary policy announcements on Thursday. Interest rates were held at 0.5 percent which was widely expected – but the good news for the Pound was on Quantitative Easing with no increase to asset purchases (meaning that no more Pounds will be plunged into the economy this time round to help shore it up - which can knock the value of Sterling against other currencies).

Will this last however? The position against the Dollar is fairly precarious. There was some good economic data from the US this week that showed consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in five months. There is rising speculation that the US are also going to resort to expanding Quantitative Easing and lots of focus on when this third round of ‘QE’ will happen. Should this happen before more QE is announced in the UK, there could be a golden window of opportunity for Sterling to rise on the US currency, but the reverse could be true if a QE expansion hits the UK first.

One potentially damaging event for Sterling to look out for next week is the Bank of England quarterly inflation report on Wednesday. It is expected that the inflation report will make something of a case for more QE which could scare currency investors, cause funds to drain away from Sterling and therefore cause it to weaken.

Against the Euro, a lot will become more clear after Monday, when we can see how currency markets have reacted to developments in Italy including Berlusconi’s resignation, the new budget law and reform austerity measures that have been approved. The situation became very serious last week with Italy’s level of debt having a severe knock on impact with Ireland, Portugal and Greece having to call for bail-outs. The spiralling situation last week edged very close to a Euro-zone wide melt down. Although the Eurozone is far from clear of danger yet, the fact that new reform measures have been approved in Italy paving the way for a new unity Government to tackle the crisis, could re-assure some investors and cause the Euro to lift off its recent lows this week.

Bear in mind therefore, that if confidence starts to pick up in the Euro and the UK inflation report suggests more quantitative easing, the Pound could become more vulnerable following two weeks of climbs. I’m more than happy to speak to any of you about the target rate of exchange you are looking to achieve or if you have any concerns about the Euro crisis and want to discuss your property investments or regular currency mortgage payments.

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.

Last week was a chaotic one, with Greece’s debt problems hitting the news more than ever and speculation rising that the Eurozone is going to have to significantly adapt to survive in the long term – with some believing that it’s possible that certain nations may end up leaving the Eurozone.

You won’t be surprised to hear that all the commotion allowed Sterling to grow on the Euro by a whopping 1.98 percent over the course of the week. This is of course, good news for anyone thinking of purchasing property in Europe. We start the week, with Sterling up to a rate of 1.162 on the Euro, which by recent standards is a very good mid-market rate. Don’t forget that you can lock into a preferable exchange rate in advance of your transfer by calling me to discuss a forward contract. Last week’s movement was not only due to a lack of clarity emerging about plans for the Euro-zone bailout fund following the G20 meeting, but also due to the European Central Bank reducing interest rates on Thursday. Interest rates were taken down from 1.5 percent to 1.25 percent and some commentators believe that a repeat move could be taken next month.

This is good news to the ears of those hoping that the Pound will continue to grow on the Euro; although interest rates in the UK are still comparatively low (at 0.5 percent) monetary policy in the UK is starting to look relatively more stable than in Europe which could help make the Pound more attractive and cause it to strengthen. The fact that European interest rates have been rising is something that has kept Sterling on the back foot for a long time.

As ever however, it is not all plain sailing for the Pound. Whilst Sterling accelerated on the Euro last week, it diminished against the Dollar by 0.6 percent meaning we start this week at around the 1.603 level. This is partly because it tracked the beleaguered Euro against the Dollar but also because there are still question marks over the UK economy and whether it is heading back into recession. Weak data from the UK manufacturing and services sectors this week did not help to dampen this concern.

As markets continue to await for better confirmation about what is happening with Greece’s bailout deal, its tricky to know which way exchange rates will turn over the coming week so this will be a key issue to watch out for. There is also some hefty UK data due - on Tuesday in the areas of manufacturing and industrial production and on Wednesday, the latest figure about the UK trade deficit will be another key indicator of how likely it is that the UK is heading back to recession. The Bank of England’s monthly policy decision is then due on Thursday – were there to be any kind of increase again to the amount of Quantitative Easing being used to shore up the economy, Sterling could be vulnerable. If there is no change, perhaps Sterling can push up again on the Euro at least for a second consecutive week.

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.

As anticipated, Sterling’s movement throughout the past week has mainly revolved around what decisions were announced following the European Summits.

European leaders have agreed to strengthen the European rescue fund and have also unveiled a new plan for Greece. The result of this on the global currency markets, has been to restore confidence in the Euro, allowing it to make steep gains on other major currencies. Against Sterling, the Euro grew by 0.72 percent over the course of the week. This means that Sterling starts the week at a rate of 1.139 against the Euro. It is thought that currency investors had been using Sterling as a temporary safe-haven until clarity emerged about decisions made over the European rescue fund so we are now seeing a reversal.

This is not to say that the single currency will necessarily continue to strengthen on the Pound in the long term as the economic situation in Europe is still fragile. The Euro did actually move down from its highest point on Friday when Italy issued expensive ten year debt which caused the surge of optimism to dampen a little. It will be interesting to see over the coming week, how Thursday’s monetary policy decisions in both the UK and Europe affect the rate of exchange as both respective currencies have a potential threat to their strength.

For the Euro, the threat is that a reduction in European interest rates is expected to occur at some point this year which is likely see Euro weakening. Although most economists are not expecting an interest rate reduction to come until at least December, if comments made on Thursday suggest that this is on the cards, the Euro could see some downwards pressure. The threat to Sterling is that the introduction of more Quantitative Easing (filling the struggling economy with more funds to help it rebuild strength) could be supported yet again by the Bank of England policy members. If this occurs, it is likely to add downwards pressure to the Pound. How these two factors will affect the Euro-Sterling tug of war will emerge on Thursday morning.

Sterling’s movement against the Dollar over the past week makes for much more pleasant reading, with the Pound accelerating by 1.12 percent. This means that Sterling starts the week at around a seven week high of 1.612 against the Dollar and has logged one of its best monthly performances against the Dollar since April. This is despite fears for the ongoing weakness in the UK economy, and consumer confidence coming in at its lowest levels since 2009 due to anxieties over a return to recession.

Stay updated with Sterling’s performance particularly on Thursday this week when the monthly monetary policy decisions are announced by the Bank of England and European Central Bank. Feel free to give me a call if you would like me to watch the rates for you or to get a quote on your transfer.

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.

This week’s currency round-up may come as a pleasant surprise to those UK based property investors interested in Sterling’s performance. Despite the latest UK inflation figures hitting the headlines last week for all the wrong reasons (now soaring as high as 5.2 percent – far and beyond above the Bank of England’s 2 percent target), Sterling managed to shake off most of the week’s bad news to climb 0.73 percent on the Euro and 0.83 percent on the US Dollar.

It wasn’t just the news of higher inflation that was a bad indicator for the UK economy. The Bank of England also strongly hinted that their recent tactic of introducing more funds into the UK economy by the means of quantitative easing might be reinforced by another round soon – should this happen, then we would expect the Pound to lose more momentum long term.

In spite of these specific UK developments, bigger global developments allowed the Pound to gain over the past seven days as volatility took hold in the run up to the weekend’s European summits. In particular, speculation and confusion over whether France and Germany had come to a new arrangement about the European Financial Stability Fund made markets cautious as they awaited an official line. It has now been revealed that an announcement about a new comprehensive plan for how to deal with European debt will come this Wednesday following European summits at the weekend – this may reinstate some confidence in the Euro so we may see Sterling drop off against the European currency if this is the case.

Sterling is starting the week at a rate of 1.148 against the Euro and 1.595 against the US Dollar. Apart from the big announcement coming from Europe on Wednesday, news affecting the value of Sterling may be UK mortgage data due on Tuesday and UK consumer confidence on Thursday. Those interested in Sterling’s performance against the Dollar should stay up to date with US GDP figures on Thursday that could also have some affect. Interest rate decisions are due next week from Canada on Tuesday, New Zealand on Wednesday and Japan on Thursday – so if you are requiring an exchange to the currencies of any of these nations it’s a good idea to see how whether these announcements cause any movement. Feel free to give me a call if you would like me to keep you updated.

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.

To start with the good news first for those purchasing property in the US, Sterling has re-cooperated against the Dollar since my last blog a week ago. Last week, I reported how the Bank of England’s announcement about reintroducing more quantitative easing to the economy had de-railed Sterling against the US currency. The past seven days have seen something of a reversal however, with the Pound gaining by a huge 1.68 percent on the US currency. This means that we start the week at a rate of 1.581 against the Dollar – this is the highest rate seen for a month and the rate of growth achieved by the Pound on the Dollar is the best seen since January.

Will this good fortune against the US currency last? Unfortunately, Sterling has grown on the Dollar in spite of the economic data coming from the UK over the past week rather than because of it. (Unemployment for example, was revealed to be at the highest levels since 1992 in the UK last week which is a very poor indicator for the way the economy is going). There was a shift in the global currency markets mid-week; this was due to the necessary approval by Slovakia for the European Financial Stability Facility. This development re-ignited the currency markets’ confidence in the Euro and saw a turn-around as risk-appetite once again soared...

This brings me on to the bad news which is for those Property Secrets clients interested in Sterling’s performance against the Euro. Although the increase in risk appetite saw funds drain away from the US Dollar and allow Sterling to make gains, it also caused the Euro to soar. For this reason Sterling simultaneously fell against the Euro by an enormous 2.05 percent over the week. This means that we start this week at a level of 1.140 against the single currency.

Most economists are still not seeing much hope for Sterling in the long term despite its climb on the US Dollar this week. The decision by the Bank of England to introduce more Quantitative Easing is expected to continue to eat away at the currency. The Pound for example, has already lost four percent against the Australian Dollar since the announcement. Sterling was lucky this week, reaping the rewards of increased risk appetite against a handful of currencies, but against the Euro is likely to continue to suffer. As European officials announce further levels of agreements about how to tackle the Euro zone crisis, investors are expected to take the chance to choose the single currency over the Pound. If you have any concerns about how a weakening Pound may affect your property investment, then feel free to give me a call to discuss the trading options available to you.

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.

Sterling starts this week at a rate of 1.555 against the US Dollar and 1.163 against the Euro. These rates are a down-turn on the previous week, but don’t reflect the very lowest points of last week - in particular a fourteen month low on the Dollar at 1.527. The drop in Sterling happened as the Bank of England announced that more monetary stimulus, in the form of a second round of quantitative easing, has been launched in an attempt to re-ignite the stalling UK economy. Although this course of action was predicted, most economists believed that this would not happen until November meaning that the decision taken this month came surprisingly early as well as being larger in scale than expected with the asset purchasing programme now expanding to 275 billion pounds. The move has been taken in reaction to the UK’s slowing growth, spending cuts and lower wage rises.

As quantitative easing involves flooding the market with Pounds, the general expectation is that this will make the Pound even less attractive to investors going forward, and cause even higher inflation as well as longer term weakness in the UK currency. There are however a few reports beginning to emerge which suggest that the move may be interpreted more positively for its ‘decisive’ direction and help re-install confidence in the Bank of England and its attitude in dealing with the risk of returning to recession head on. The next week may start to indicate, depending on which way Sterling moves, how markets are thinking.

The European monetary policy decision which also took place on Thursday helped support the single currency as the European Central Bank held interest rates at 1.5 percent whilst there were a number of predictions for an interest rate reduction. The ongoing movement of the Euro is as uncertain as ever however, as the saga over whether Greece will default on its debts and how this may affect other nations remains rumbling on in the background and as ratings agency Fitch downgraded both Italy and Spain at the end of last week.

Unfortunately for those UK investors wanting to purchase property in the US, the Dollar rose on Sterling as aside from the news about quantitative easing in the UK, there was some stronger data coming from the US. This included better than predicted data on US joblessness, initial unemployment and nonfarm payrolls.

Key events to watch next week that may move the markets are UK manufacturing and industrial figures on Tuesday as well as unemployment figures on Wednesday. The UK trade balance on Thursday will also reveal whether the UK has managed to cut down its large trade deficit and increase exports.  There are also some housing figures due mid-week which come with a health warning for those hoping the Pound will strengthen, as they are expected to paint a bleak picture of the UK property market.

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.

Last week was volatile for the currency markets with a host of data coming out as well as various headlines emerging about the possibility of a double dip recession in the UK as well as a deepening crisis in Europe.

The result was that currency investors flocked to the safe haven currencies of the US Dollar and the Yen instead of the higher yielding Sterling and Euro. This meant that despite an up and down week, Sterling practically held against the Euro from the week before overall, moving only by a minimal 0.08 percent. Against the Dollar however, the Pound suffered a terrible drop, falling by a huge 2.13 percent, meaning that we start this week at around a rate of 1.54.

Sterling particularly crashed against the US Dollar from Wednesday onwards as far as a one year low. Other than the news emerging from the global economy, the Bank of England minutes released on Wednesday helped drag down the Pound, as they seemed to confirm speculation that it won’t be long at all before policy members vote for quantitative easing to be used in the UK as the flagging economy becomes ever more precarious. Although the minutes revealed that only one policy member voted for this form of monetary stimulus this month, the notes confirmed that many members thought that this would be a likely remedy needed to help the economy from as soon as next month. As such action would fill the economy with more Pounds, such news makes Sterling unattractive for currency investors, which is adding yet more downwards pressure on the UK currency.

This is alongside more negative data from the UK such as a drop in factory orders and a rise in public borrowing.

Those property investors interested in how Sterling may perform against the Euro, which unlike the Dollar is not a safe haven, should take note of the G20 finance meeting that took place last week. This meeting of the world’s largest economies concluded that there was a mutual commitment to ‘take all actions to preserve the stability of the banking system’ – as the conference had focussed on Europe and the Greek debt crisis this can namely be interpreted as a pledge to contribute funds to ensure the banking system remains stable. This may help support the Euro.

With monetary stimulus now on the agenda in the UK therefore there isn’t likely to be much good news for the Pound in the immediate future, particularly with all the current talk of the risk over a return to a recession. Feel free to talk to me about how you can protect yourself from further currency fluctuations using techniques such as forward contracts and market orders.

If you happen to have property to sell in the US and need to bring Dollar’s back to Sterling we are currently looking at some of the best exchange rates seen in a year.

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.

Last week was not a happy seven days for the Pound which fell overall by 0.58 percent against the US Dollar and a significant 1.59 percent against the Euro.

There was a particularly gloomy moment for Sterling last week when it touched the lowest levels so far in 2011 against the Dollar. A number of factors have been at play in Sterling’s demise, not least, a lot of talk about quantitative easing – a method of helping to reignite the economy that the Bank of England are thought to be drawing ever closer to. This was intimated by both Bank of England policy maker Martin Weale and referred to by Business Secretary Vince Cable last week.

Sterling was also not helped by the fact that currency investors took flight to the safe haven of the US Dollar in the early part of last week as rumblings over European debt sales and credit ratings caused currency investors to be nervous. The speculation over a possible Greek debt default did also cause the Euro to drop to a six month low on Sterling, but the single European currency then picked up over the rest of the week. This was due to certain progressions helping to calm nerves such as the news that China would buy up Italian bonds.

Most of the data coming from the UK last week did not help to spread much hope that Sterling might pick up. Although retail sales were not quite as poor as expected, the news of rising unemployment, lower wages and rising inflation expectations have not painted a particularly optimistic picture of the UK economy. This is all making the chance of monetary stimulus in the form of quantitative easing even more likely, with most wondering not if but when it will happen. This is likely to make Sterling less attractive to investors going forward and there are likely to be regular jitters when the Bank of England announce their monetary policy decision each month.

UK based property investors should therefore be cautious as the Pound doesn’t currently have much on the horizon in terms of a life line. Although the enormity of problems in the Eurozone could see the Sterling Euro rate improve, it’s equally as important to remember that the UK is also vulnerable to these problems with Europe being a main trading partner as well as there being strong financial links with UK and European banks. Don’t forget that it’s possible to book yourself into a rate of exchange prior to your money transfer to protect yourself from the uncertainty of fluctuations.

Key data and events to look out for this week include the Bank of England minutes on Wednesday which will reveal the voting and discussions that took place at this month’s monetary policy meeting – this could bring quantitative easing event more into the spotlight if discussions about this feature on the minutes. There are also UK house prices and consumer confidence figures on Monday as well as UK public net borrowing on Wednesday.

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.

Last week I reported Sterling’s recent movements - gaining on the Euro whilst dropping against the US Dollar. This movement has extended throughout the past week as the markets saw even more intensity – against the Dollar for example, Sterling tumbled by an astonishing 2.05 percent.

Sterling managed to keep climbing against the Euro to levels of 1.163, the strongest rates seen in over three months. This ascent gathered momentum from Thursday onwards when interest rate decisions were announced by both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. Whilst both decisions were in line with expectations in terms of holding interest rates, Sterling found support from the fact that some economists had expected new quantitative easing measures to be announced by the Bank of England to help shore up the economy - this did not materialise as the economy was evidently believed to be robust enough for now which helped support the Pound.

Trichet’s comments following the interest rate decision in Europe on the same day did also not help the single currency as he identified ‘intensified downside risks’ to the economy with some predicting that European interest rates may have to be brought back down at some stage. The resignation of European Central Bank Executive Board Member Juergen Stark, reportedly over policy, also generated uncertainty and provoked more Sterling weakness.

Anyone interested in the Swiss Franc, will be astonished at some of the movement throughout last week. The currency plunged by 10 percent against the Euro as Swiss officials announced plans to intervene in order to artificially bring down the value of the currency and introduce regulations about how much it can grow against the Euro. This made the Swiss France unattractive to investors.

Sterling steadily fell against the US Dollar throughout the week to levels of 1.588. Confidence grew for the US economy as President Obama announced plans about a programme to stimulate jobs with an injection of 300 billion Dollars. There was also positive news concerning the US trade deficit which fell by 13.1 percent in July which was much better than expected.

The mixed picture of Sterling’s current movement, with the Pound growing against some currencies, whilst falling against others, reveals that the Pound itself has little internal strength at present. If you have Pounds to transfer therefore you should consider the current rates as very precarious. The strengthening position against the Euro is really under-pinned by weakness and problems in Europe. Although no quantitative easing was announced in this month’s UK monetary policy decisions, there is still a strong possibility that this could happen at some stage – and when it does we would expect Sterling to lose ground as the market is flooded with Pounds. It’s best as ever, to have target rates of exchange in mind, and make yourself protected against currency fluctuations. The second half of this week sees a wealth of data being released – from more UK retail data to CPI inflation data in the US. It may be another volatile week.

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.

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.

It’s a despondent start to the new week for any UK based property investors as the Pound has lost out steadily to other major currencies over the past week. Sterling kicks off the week at the 1.12 mid-market level against the Euro and 1.63 against the US Dollar, having lost ground by 1.31 percent and 0.58 percent against the currencies respectively.

This was a sharp fall from the previous week when Sterling had reached some recent highs, in particular the best rates for three and a half months against the Dollar touching a rate of 1.66. Some analysts are suggesting that Sterling was actually over-priced throughout the previous week, as it reacted to bad economic events in Europe and the US, and was ready for a fall bearing in mind the ongoing lacklustre picture being painted of the UK economy. This was emphasised last week as it was revealed that British retail sales fell at their fastest pace in almost a year, consumer confidence edged down further in July and GDP figures for the second quarter were not revised upwards but remained at a measly 0.2 percent. Added to this was the fact that some speculation has started to circulate in the press, that additional quantitative easing may be required to help kick start the UK economy, with interest rates now not expected to rise until 2013.

The Pound therefore found itself under renewed pressure in a week where currency investors were all awaiting a large economic news event which lent more strength to the Dollar as the week progressed – this was the widely anticipated annual speech made by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday. The crux of the anticipation for investors was whether Bernanke would announce another round of quantitative easing for the US to bolster growth (last year he announced the second round of quantitative easing). It was thought that any hint of a third round of easing would help sooth increasing fears about the US economy heading back into recession. In the event, Bernanke did not announce this but did concede that the Federal Reserve would meet for an extra day in September to discuss whether any additional ‘tools’ needed using to help stimulate the economy. It is possible therefore, that the Dollar strength seen throughout the last week may start to subside.

Key events to watch out for this week will be the run of PMI data in the UK which starts on Thursday, with the latest growth figures from the manufacturing and construction industries coming out before the end of the week. US unemployment and non-farm payroll data also at the end of the week could see some re-adjustment in the Dollar. As the European debt crisis rumbles on, following the purchase of more debt by the ECB last week, there will as ever be an element of uncertainty to how markets will react to the ongoing situation. Give me a call or register an online enquiry if you’d like me to watch the rates for you.

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.

Sterling has continued its month of ascent on other major currencies, with the past week seeing a 1.13 percent climb on the Dollar, as well as a small but none the less upwards move, on the Euro, by 0.11 percent. Significant change is afoot in the currency markets following some of the major events of the past two weeks – those interested in how Sterling will fare against the Dollar should be particularly alert to what is happening in the exchange rates as the Dollar becomes increasingly unpopular making it cheap for those in the UK to invest in American property.

The significant climb on the Dollar means that we start this week at the midmarket rate of around the 1.64 mark. The historic decision by Standard and Poor’s two weeks ago to downgrade the US credit rating is continuing to send shudders through the currency markets – whether the US currency will continue to be used as a ‘safe-haven’ currency by investors (one of the major factors that determines its strength) remains to be seen. The Dollar became even more vulnerable when early last week, the Federal Reserve announced that US interest rates would be maintained at the minimal 0 – 0.25 percent level well into 2013. This is another factor which is likely to ensure a weak Dollar going forward.

Ongoing volatility in Europe affecting the stock markets, as well as reports of slower economic growth in Europe last week, allowed Sterling to gain on the single currency. German GDP for the second quarter came in lower than expected just when Europe could have done with some better news from their strongest economy.

The negative news coming from both the US and Europe has steered the Swiss Franc, another of the world’s most popular ‘safe-haven’ currencies, in to a relentless upwards climb as investors become wary of the Dollar – this is despite efforts taken last week by the Swiss National Bank to artificially intervene and weaken the currency. This is not good news for anyone wanting to invest in Switzerland, although if you have Swiss assets to sell on the other hand, now is a brilliant time in terms of exchange rates.

Sterling was therefore in demand last week – and this was despite some poor economic UK news, which managed to seem paltry in comparison to European and US events. The Bank of England minutes revealed that that the two ‘rate hawks’ of the monetary policy committee have joined the other seven members in voting to keep interest rates the same. This, as well as disappointing jobs data, did not affect Sterling’s ability to hit three month highs. Friday will be a significant end to the upcoming week with both US and UK GDP figures for the second quarter of 2011 being confirmed (and any revisions being announced). However, as the last week has taught, the volatility in the global financial markets, may continue to be the dominant factor and hopefully Sterling will maintain its current position. Speak to me with any queries on how to secure the current exchange rates for your transfer.

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.

Sterling continues to struggle. I’m pretty sure you may have read that more often than not recently, but it remains the case. The cause continues to be stagnant growth, downgraded forecasts and the risk of further stimulus measures hanging in the air. The effect is a stronger euro and dollar than we might have expected, given recent negative events with both currencies. With all the uncertainty surrounding the eurozone and the political posturing of the US, the upshot is that the pairings remain largely where they have sat for much of last month.

Pound Sterling – UK Markets

Sterling fell against the dollar yesterday, closing at 1.6183. We appear to have recovered some ground in early trading however, to sit currently at 1.6271 at time of writing*. The pound tracked euro losses against the greenback yesterday, with the dollar running out the winner following jobless figures in the afternoon.

As ever, sterling is continually hampered by a distinct lack of positive forecasts and mostly weak data. It simply doesn’t appear to have the legs to drive upwards when negativity elsewhere suggests that it should. Whilst the euro struggles, we see the GBP/EUR pairing largely static and appearing range bound between lows of 1.13 and highs of 1.15. The pairing currently trades at 1.1434*, with no real movement since yesterday’s close.

US Dollar – US Markets

Wall Street rallied on Thursday, following an unexpected decline in US jobless claims and better-than-forecast corporate earnings. This caused the dollar to recover some ground, mostly against the pound.

It’s good news for the greenback considering the recent humiliation of being downgraded by Standard and Poor’s following the political jostling to raise the debt ceiling. We may also have expected some vulnerability in reaction to the decision to keep interest rates on hold at near zero per cent until 2013.

So far, however, the dollar has rallied if anything. How much of this is a direct benefit of the euro’s travails remains to be seen, but for now the currency holds its ground.

Euro – European Markets

There is no question that concerns over the debt situation in the zone are likely to escalate. It is very much a ‘take-each-day-as-it-comes’ scenario with the euro – it could crumble at any time. It does appear, however, that the real problems it faces are being masked somewhat by the struggle elsewhere. Were we not in global strife, we may well be seeing a euro falling through the floor but, of course, without the global crisis it probably wouldn’t be in this mess. There, possibly, lies the crux of the matter; we expect the euro to weaken due to its problems, but forget why it is in apparent dire straits in the first place.

Against the dollar, rates are little changed. Current trading sees the pairing at 1.4252* with variation at a minimum. It is Friday, however, and we often see some excitement as we head toward the weekend close. The squaring off of weekly positions can result in some interesting movement in the afternoon, so do check with your broker if you are looking to trade a combination of EUR/USD/GBP.

As mentioned, the euro is very bound in range against the pound. From lows of 1.13 to highs of 1.15, we have seen no breakout from these parameters in recent trading and I expect little change from that position going forward.

Other Currencies – Highlights

The commodities-backed currencies remain a good buy at present. The AUD has lost around 7% in value in a week’s trading, the ZAR about the same percentage. Whilst the NZD remains strong, that too has lost significant value in recent trading. Should you be looking to buy into these currencies and your timeframe is limited, now would appear to be a very good time.

Last week was volatile for the currency markets with a roller-coaster of events influencing exchange rate movements – first the US debt limit was extended, then moves were taken by the European Central Bank to buy back bonds as fears of the debt crisis engulfing Italy and Spain accelerated, and since the close of markets on Friday, ratings agency Standard and Poor’s has gone through with prior warnings and downgraded its rating on the United States to AA+.

What does all this mean for the international property investor who is interested in how the Pound is doing? Overall, Sterling dropped by 0.19 percent against the Dollar over the week and gained on the Euro by 0.54 percent. Movement was certainly erratic however, with the Pound in particular moving both up and down against the Euro in the early part of the week. The European debt crisis issues in the second half of the week allowed Sterling to capitalise on the single currency. The slight drop against the Dollar, can be put down to the Dollar’s use as a ‘safe haven’ currency by investors, as the panic about the spread of European debt between Euro zone nations hit the headlines.

These large-scale global events diluted the impact of internal economic news coming from the UK. Manufacturing PMI data early in the week was disappointing and yet another stagnant hold on interest rates at 0.5 percent on Thursday did not make for inspiring reading on the UK economy. Despite the fact that most economists are continually pushing back their expectations for when an interest rate rise will occur in the UK due to this kind of lacklustre data (with predictions having moved from summer 2011, to late 2012, to now even later – 2013) the Pound is currently still managing to keep up momentum from these external global events damaging confidence in the Dollar and the Euro. Looking at the month as a whole, the Pound’s strengthening has been consistent, with Sterling having grown by 2.31 percent on the Dollar and 2.78 percent on the Euro.

Although the agreement on the US debt limit also took downwards pressure off the Dollar last week, this may all change as markets assess the fact that Standard and Poor’s have now downgraded the US credit rating over the weekend. Some economists are therefore predicting we may see more downwards movement in the Dollar at the start of this week. Should the European crisis continue to escalate this week with more evidence coming to light of the flow of debt between nations, Sterling may also seize the opportunity to gain yet further on the single currency.

However, it will be important to look out for the impact of the inflation report and Bank of England Governor’s speech on Tuesday – Mervyn King sometimes has the tendency to talk down the UK economy which can have a negative bearing on the Pound.

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.

The Pound rallied for a second week in a row on the US Dollar, gaining by 0.77 percent. This kick-starts the week with Sterling at the mid-market rate of 1.64 on the US currency – the highest levels seen for seven weeks. It also managed to re-gain some of last week’s losses on the Euro, to improve its mid-market position against the single currency by 0.49 percent rising to the 1.14 levels.

The Pound’s surge on the Dollar in fact predominantly came on Friday, after it had tailed off somewhat mid-week. The Dollar was sapped by a range of factors at the end of the week, including the release of GDP figures in the US. These revealed that economic growth had taken place at a rate of just 1.3 percent in the second quarter - well below forecasts for a 1.8 percent increase. This was particularly put down to the slowest rate of growth in consumer spending in the US for two years due to unemployment and rising petrol prices which does not bode well for the US economy. Whether the Pound will continue its ascent on the Dollar into this week may well be influenced by whether the US Government reach an agreement about raising the debt ceiling in order to allow more money to be borrowed and avoid a default in the US – this ongoing issue has been putting downwards pressure on the Dollar as it represents a very serious concern not just for the US economy, but global markets. Comments from officials to the press have suggested that an agreement is now very close – however, this was the same message that was circulating over last weekend so it’s best to keep an eye on how this develops whatever currency exchange you need as the developments may impact much more than the US Dollar.

In Europe, no sooner had the conditions of Greek debt been re-agreed in as I reported in last week’s blog, than some fresh nerves about Europe’s debt crisis have surfaced. Moody’s investors put Spain’s credit rating on review for a possible downgrade as well as actually downgrading the rating of Cyprus. Another agency, Standard and Poor’s, lowered the rating of Greece indicating that the flow of financial woes from nation to nation is still perceived as a threat to economic stability.

Sterling therefore had a positive week despite some poor data out of the UK – in particular the fastest declining retail sales in a year. The currency did receive its first boost last week from a jump up in GDP figures. These revealed that the economy grew by 0.2 percent in the second quarter – although this number sounds marginal, it was in fact better than some economists has expected and most important was not a negative figure. The Pound’s situation is certainly still precarious with so much global uncertainty and we are likely to see continued volatility as the summer continues.
This week sees the run of UK PMI data coming out in manufacturing, construction and services which can often have an impact on Sterling, as the pieces of data spread over three days give a good broad picture of the economy. UK and European interest rate decisions take place on Thursday – most are expecting that both will now hold interest rates but it is worth checking the situation on Thursday as if Europe went for another rate hike, there may be some Euro strengthening at Sterling’s loss.

For further advice or 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.

Events in Europe and the US have continued to shape currency markets over the last week. Unfortunately, the Pound has not had quite such a heroic seven days on the Euro as I was able to report last week, when we cheered the 1.24 percent gain against the single currency. The last week has not seen such an extent of movement, but overall the Pound has toppled to lose 0.39 percent of the previous week’s gains as events took a turn in Europe and the terms of Greek debt were agreed on by European officials. With Greece having longer to now pay off its debts under new conditions, the immediate threat of default has been side-lined. Markets responded well to the plan with the Euro instantly starting to pick back up. Extra confidence in Europe was gained from the fact that it wasn’t just the terms of Greek debt that were agreed, but a reform to the EFSF as a whole, meaning it should be more flexible and effective in responding to and helping to prevent debt problems in European nations. Those needing Sterling to Euro transfers should bear in mind that although the past week has put heed to Sterling’s two week rally, over the past month as a whole, the Pound has grown by 1 percent on the Euro so we are far from the worst rates we have seen.

Those interested in how exchange rates will affect any upcoming property purchases in the US will be pleased to hear that the Pound did have a much better week against the Dollar to the tune of a 1.02 percent gain on the US currency. The ongoing wrangling between opposition leaders about whether to raise the ‘debt ceiling’ in the US (which needs to happen before the 2nd August to let the cash-strapped nation borrow more funds to add to its empty pot) has continued to dominate markets and allow Sterling to gain on the Dollar. It is worth noting that it was rumoured over the weekend that an agreement may be very soon approaching, so those wondering whether to fix into the current Sterling Dollar exchange rate may want to keep an eye on how this develops as there is a chance that once an agreement is reached, the Dollar could see some form of rally. Data from the US will also have a hand in this however, and the last week shows how patchy the economy is with poor US employment data hitting at the end of the week.

From the UK last week, the Bank of England minutes, actually had little impact on the Pound. They revealed that once more, support for a rate hike from within the committee was only by the same two members as has become the custom each month. Positive retail sales and the fact that net borrowing has reduced added a little more shine to the current view of the UK economy, however an interest rate rise, in truth, is still likely to be a long way off.

What is the picture for next week? Should the US reach an agreement on the debt ceiling, we could see some shifts take place so please speak with me if you would like me to keep you updated with whether your target rate of exchange is achieved – or rates move away from you meaning you want to minimise impact before they drop further. GDP figures on Tuesday from the UK will also be significant. Any sign of strong growth could push the Pound in the right direction but a low figure could sap Sterling.

For further advice or 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.

Good news for UK based property investors purchasing overseas! The Pound has struck back over the past week, making the most of the damaging data and events that have unfolded in the US and the Euro-zone.

Sterling has finally edged back up to more acceptable levels against the Euro, starting the fresh week at the 1.14s – this could quickly accelerate depending on how much markets react when they re-open on Monday morning to the European stress test results that came out at 5pm on Friday evening. The Euro dropped all day on Friday as markets awaited the results to find out how many European banks had failed the stringent tests. Markets were expecting about fifteen banks to fail – the final result was that eight banks failed including five Spanish, two Greek and one Austrian bank. Therefore, the results were not quite as bad as expected so it will be interesting to see whether this will continue to pull down the Euro this week. The news in truth is not good for Europe when added to last week’s string of credit rating downgrades on various Eurozone nations – both Greece and Ireland suffered downgrades by credit rating agencies. With Italy only half-way through the process of passing its austerity measures, there is still a great degree of uncertainty about sovereign debt which is starting to reflect in the downwards movement of the Euro. Following weeks of Euro gains, Sterling has now had two strong weeks against the single currency – growing by 1.24 percent on the single currency last week, following a 1 percent increase the week before. The Euro also dropped to a severe low against the Swiss Franc to its lowest ever level. Anyone purchasing property in Europe should keep a keen eye on how the situation progresses this week as these are the best Sterling levels we have seen against the Euro in over a month.

The credit rating agencies also had their hand to play in allowing the Pound to appreciate on the Dollar last week by 0.5 percent. Both Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s agencies warned that they may downgrade the US AAA credit rating. This comes as the US is struggling to resolve its issues with its debt ceiling limit – the US needs the debt ceiling raised before the 2nd August to be legally allowed to borrow more money but President Obama and Congress are failing to reach an agreement on how this can be achieved. If measures are not agreed on by politicians before the 2nd August, the US would then be defaulting on its debt, which could bring some more serious damage to the Dollar.

Sterling therefore, stayed out of the limelight for most of last week with minimal economic data coming out of the UK– instead it quietly made gains in the shadow of events in Europe and the US. CPI inflation data on Tuesday was a little less than forecast but still well over the 2 percent target at 4.2 percent. The biggest internal UK event for Sterling this week will be the Bank of England minutes on Wednesday. Unfortunately, if they confirm expectations that an interest rate hike is not looking likely until 2012, or give any indication of more monetary stimulus being required, then the Pound could be more vulnerable from Wednesday onwards. This will of course also depend on how these big issues in the US and Europe continue to progress so feel free to give me a call and stay updated.

For further advice or 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.

Thankfully for those needing to make Sterling to Euro transfers, the Pound made some modest gains on the single currency throughout last week – this is even despite Europe raising interest rates again on Thursday up to 1.5 percent whilst UK interest rates were held at 0.5 percent once more.

The Pound has gained just over 1 percent on the Euro over the past week which is very good-going, especially given the interest-rate manoeuvres. The actual interest rate is still only kicking off the week at around the fairly uninspiring 1.12 levels but this is still an improvement on the 1.10s of the previous week. Sterling found strength last week from some very surprising PMI manufacturing data which completely stunned currency markets as it was revealed that manufacturing production had shot up for the month of May by 1.8 percent – far above and beyond the market forecast of 1 percent. This is the first really positive piece of economic news to come out of the UK in a while so although it is a good sign of growth in this individual sector, it is really only a single grain of hope and those needing a strong Pound should consider whether they would like to take advantage of the 1 percent increase on the Euro over the past week whilst this manufacturing data still has an influence.

The other factor which helped Sterling and managed to tarnish the news of the European interest rate rise (which would normally lift the Euro more than we saw last week) is that Europe was hit with a credit downgrading on Portugal by Moody’s Ratings Agency. Portugal’s rating was lowered to ‘junk’ status which warns that Moody’s believe the country may need another bail-out. This bad news limited the impact that the European interest rate rise had on raising the single currency last week but it is still important to note that in Trichet’s speech on the same day, he dropped many hints that the European Central Bank will be looking to raise interest rates again soon in the upcoming months. He also commented on the Portuguese issues and downplayed the extent to which these would negatively affect the rest of Europe. Again therefore, although the Pound managed to gain back on the Euro last week, looking to the longer term, there is still a possibility that continuing interest rate rises from Europe will continue to damage the Sterling to Euro exchange rate.

For those making property investments in the US, Sterling’s most recent movements against the Dollar over the past week have been much more tempered with Sterling moving downwards against the US Dollar by 0.36 percent in total. This is partly due to Sterling managing to push upwards on Friday when the US experienced a dire employment report. Looking over the past month as a whole however, is unpleasant viewing, with Sterling having dropped by 2.51 percent on the Dollar in total – quite a significant amount of money therefore on a property value. Economic data from the US however, as Friday’s employment figures showed, is still very patchy and so future movements could easily go one of two ways. The best bet is to get in touch with me to discuss your target rates of exchange so I can alert you if these are achieved, and how to protect yourself from these kinds of currency movements.

For further advice or 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.

It has been another volatile week for the Pound. Anyone purchasing a property investment in the US will be pleased to know that Sterling grew by 0.73 percent on the Dollar last week. For those purchasing in Europe however, the story from last week has got even worse – the Pound dropped by 1.66 percent on the Euro throughout the week meaning that we start this  week at the 1.10 levels - some of the worst rates seen in fifteen months for those making Sterling to Euro transfers.

What is managing to make the Euro overpower Sterling in this way? Sovereign debt in Greece was the main issue affecting currency markets last week. Despite the widespread protests as reported in the news, for currency markets, the fact that Greek politicians passed another round of austerity measures, has shored up confidence that the crisis is being dealt with and saw an instant lift in the single currency. As this also helped to increase the ‘risk-appetite’ of currency investors generally, it also helps to explain whilst as the Euro rose, the safe-haven Dollar lost ground as well as other lower-yielding ‘safer’ currencies such as the Swiss Franc.

Sat in the middle of this cross-fire, the Pound therefore demised further against the Euro, whilst managing to gain ground on the Dollar. The US did also experience some negative data which contributed to this, with US consumer confidence figures dropping on Friday.

The ongoing interest rate saga running alongside the Greek situation was also to blame for Sterling’s fall against the Euro. Trichet made comments last week that have led markets to believe that there is a very strong chance that Europe will raise interest rates on Thursday this week from 1.25 to 1.5 percent which is now the official prediction. This is especially significant as the UK interest rate decision takes place on the same day, but rates are almost guaranteed to stay stagnant at the very low 0.5 percent. Whereas a few months ago, it was thought a UK rate rise would take place this summer, the UK is now seen as lagging even further behind in the interest rate race, with a rate hike very unlikely to come until 2012. Very poor UK PMI manufacturing data last week (the worst in 21 months) has only confirmed the view that an interest rate rise will take a long time to occur due to fragile areas in the UK economy.

This does not bode well for Sterling’s movements against the Euro this week so please do give me a call if you do have money to exchange in to Euros any time in the upcoming months as we can discuss your upper and lower target rates of exchange. Since January, Sterling has now dropped by nearly 10 percent on the Euro, which on the price of a property is incredibly significant. This makes it more important than ever to use a currency broker like myself, to achieve a better rate than the banks as well as making sure you are well equipped to book the transfer rate at the best time, given the wide scale currency movements that we are currently seeing. Speaking to me before the interest rate decisions take place this Thursday is advisable.

For further advice or 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.

Those purchasing property overseas will not be pleased to hear that it was another dire week for the Pound with the currency losing out by 0.61 percent to the Euro and 1.46 percent to the Dollar. The Bank of England minute release from June’s monetary policy setting meeting was the main event that dragged down the currency - added of course to the build-up of lacklustre economic data from the past few weeks.

There were two elements to the minutes that helped to sap the Pound. Firstly, the new member of the committee, Ben Broadbent, did not follow in the shoes of his predecessor Andrew Sentence, by voting for an interest rate hike. As he instead voted along with the majority of the committee to maintain rates at 0.5 percent, the level of support for a hike that had become the status-quo has now dropped - with Sentence, the voting for a hike had been three votes against six for several months within the committee. This has now dropped to two votes against seven and predictions from economists are stretching forward to Spring and Summer 2012 for when an interest rate hike is likely to occur. This is quite incredible given the fact that just several months ago, predictions were focused on July or August 2011, and demonstrates why the Pound has suffered so much. Added to this, the minutes also noted that the possibility of further stimulus measures had been discussed with the members being of the opinion that the prospects for UK growth had substantially weakened.

This pessimistic outlook has prevented the Pound from really managing to capitalise on the Euro despite the ongoing saga of Greek debt dominating headlines. There were several European finance meetings last week and markets reacted well for example to a meeting of Merkel and Sarkozy held to come up with a common plan for Greece.  The successful vote of confidence in Greek Parliament also helped support the Euro, suggesting that further austerity measures (needed to secure more financial aid from Europe) will be passed more easily. A report on Thursday suggested that Greece had reached an agreement with the EU and International Monetary Fund about these austerity measures and again this showed in the strengthening single currency.

The US last week suffered weak unemployment data as well as the report from the Federal Market Open committee stating that growth was more sluggish than expected and reducing the outlook for economic growth. Even this, did not allow the Pound on the US currency to appreciate however, with markets also maintaining funds in some of the big safe haven currencies such as the Dollar.

With the Pound at around some of the weakest levels seen for six weeks, if you are selling property abroad and bringing money back into Sterling, it is definitely worth considering whether the current rate is one that you would like to lock into to be guaranteed the favourable rate. If you are buying property overseas, then feel free to speak to me about how to choose a target rate of exchange and how I can help you monitor if and when this will be achieved as more economic data is released. UK GDP figures on Tuesday will one of the key events to watch this week.

For further advice or 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.

Bank of England policymaker Paul Fisher dovish tone kept alive the prospect of more qualitative easing in the UK. This has dropped Sterling to a session low against the dollar and the euro this morning.

Pound Sterling – UK Markets

Fisher said if Bank of England policymakers saw mid-term inflation turning into deflation, they may have to consider more quantitative easing. He added QE was very much on the table as a policy option.

The pound depreciated 0.5 per cent to 1.1274 against the euro as of 9:48 a.m. in London, the weakest level since June 10. Sterling declined 0.1 percent to $1.6179 and 0.2 percent to 129.77 yen.

The forecast for the coming months remains gloomy. Britain ran up a record budget deficit in the first two months of the fiscal year despite a slightly larger than expected drop in borrowing in May, highlighting the tough road ahead for the government.

US Dollar – US Markets

The U.S. currency touched an almost one-week low versus the euro before Fed policy makers begin a two-day meeting amid signs the world’s largest economy is losing momentum.

A report that’s predicted to show new home sales in the U.S. slumped in May, adding pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates at a record low.

“The problems of the U.S. far exceed Europe’s despite all the focus on Greece and the peripheral economies,” said Grant Turley, a senior currency strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Sydney. “The Fed doesn’t look like it’s going to be in a position to raise rates well into 2012, and that will keep the U.S. dollar under pressure.”

Euro – European Markets

The Euro softened in the morning as Euro-zone finance ministers failed to reach an agreement that would release the next tranche of 12B euros and would prevent Greece from defaulting on its debts.

Nevertheless, the EU backed the development of a second bailout for Greece and as a result the Euro erased the losses against the dollar and closed little changed at 1.4303.

Other Currencies – Highlights

The bond market is signalling doubts about Japan’s recovery from a record earthquake even as the Bank of Japan lifts its assessment on the economy.

The central bank last week raised its monthly economic assessment for the first time since February, as policy makers saw signs of a rebound. Data yesterday showed exports dropped by more than economists estimated in May, as Prime Minister Naoto Kan struggles to assemble a second supplementary budget before fulfilling a pledge to step down.

Nigel Hodges Currency Solutions

I reported last week that Sterling had lost out by 2.73 percent against the Euro in a single week following two weeks of negative data with poor UK GDP, and the worst manufacturing figures for twenty months signalling that the UK recovery was certainly fragile. The clash of UK and European interest rates on Thursday last week saw both economies hold their interest rates for another month. This was mostly expected and despite some more poor data from the UK, including a higher trade deficit, the Pound climbed on the Euro on the week overall, little by little regaining some of the lost ground on the Euro. Sterling was helped along by speculation circulating surrounding European debt, including claims towards the end of the week that Spain may be next in line for a European bail out as it was suggested that Santander experienced a failed bond auction. Comments from the European officials last week that seemed to hint that European interest rates may rise by another 25 points next month did not help lift the Euro. In total, Sterling gained on the Euro by 0.76 percent meaning that we start this week with Sterling in the early 1.13s on the Euro. This is still not the kind of exchange rate that makes pleasant listening for any UK property investors who need to make an exchange into Euros to purchase European property. If you want to know how to handle your exchange, it’s a good idea to give me a call or make an online enquiry letting me know the time frame for your property completion. I can talk you through the trading options available for you to decide how you would like to proceed and help you feel confident that you are more protected from any further currency fluctuation.

Despite clawing back ground on the Euro, Sterling dropped against the Dollar throughout last week by 1.21 percent overall so we start this week around the low 1.62 level. The US economy was one of the few major economies that experiences positive economic data last week  - the trade deficit narrowed,  the import price index was healthier and jobless claims had also reduced. The Dollar was also very much helped by the lingering debt problems surrounding European nations such as Greece as a clear flow of funds by currency investors into the ‘safe-haven’ currencies gave a lot of support to the Dollar.

Key events for the UK this week will be retail and consumer figures on Tuesday, unemployment figures on Wednesday with further retail figures on Thursday. The European Central Bank report on Friday will provide a further detailed analysis of the European economy from the Central Bank and may shape the sentiment of currency investors and cast some influence of the Sterling Euro pairing.

For further advice or 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.

Rife speculation around Greek debt throughout last week did not manage to damage the Euro against Sterling. On the contrary, dire figures from the manufacturing sector in the UK last week (the worst in twenty months) building on the weak confirmed GDP figures of the week before, showed their impact on the Pound which lost out a very significant 2.73 percent to the Euro over the course of the week.  You won’t need me to tell you what a huge amount of money 2.73 percent is on a property purchase or sale. If you do happen to be selling an overseas home and bringing Euros back into Sterling then now really is the time to make the transfer – even if the exchange will not happen for several months, I can forward book the exchange for you at the current rate with just a ten percent deposit of the total. If however, you need to make a Sterling to Euro transfer you will be wanting to know if there is much news on the horizon that may help bring the Pound back up on the single currency.  The big event of the week will be the clash of the European and UK interest rate decisions on Thursday. Should we see the Bank of England make a hike up from 0.5 percent or the European Central Bank raise interest rates from 1.25 percent, we could well see the respective currency gain ground. Before this, we have the producer price index and investor confidence out in Europe on Monday, retail sales on Tuesday and GDP figures on Wednesday. With UK industrial and manufacturing data on Friday this could well be a volatile week for this currency pairing with significant data out every day. Please give me a call to discuss any transfers involving Euro and Sterling as I’m happy to keep an eye out for your target rate of exchange or help protect you from fluctuations throughout this week.

Against the Dollar, we are starting the week with the Pound sitting at the 1.64s. Although the currency has not managed to retain the levels of 1.65 seen two weeks ago against the Dollar, it is important to remember that it suddenly surged to these levels from 1.61 so despite losing out 0.51 percent to the US currency over the past week, we are still in a relatively strong position for the month as a whole. Although data from the UK, particularly in the area of manufacturing, has pulled the Pound down, the tail end of last week also bought some very bad data from the US economy so there is the potential for some volatility. In particular, the non-farm payroll figures which give a view into US employment patterns were much below forecasts with unemployment also creeping up. Moody’s ratings agency have also commented that they may put the US triple A credit rating on review for downgrade unless more is done to tackle debt by mid July – this could be a real blow for the Dollar should the downgrade occur and confidence be lost. The best way to catch the spike in your favour (such as the 1.65 levels seen recently) is to speak with me at Currency Solutions so I can watch the rate for you - and even set an automatic market-order on your behalf. It is important to remember however that we are still at fairly strong levels at the current rate of 1.64 so it may be worth you calling to get a quote on your exchange with me if you need a Sterling to Dollar transfer and haven’t done already – particularly if you are risk-averse and more keen to make sure you don’t miss out on the going good rate.

For further advice or 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.

Volcano’s are not the only eruption to be causing a storm in Europe at the moment. A conglomeration of events appear to be taking place at present with the European Union facing a debt crisis that could bleed through Greece, Spain and Portugal. Also, at a push, Belgium and Italy. Take this and add to it the search for a new leader of the International Monetary Fund and Ash Clouds threatening to shut down European air space and you have a mind boggling series of events threatening to topple the euro.

Pound Sterling

Word has it that the government was meant to be making spending cuts for some reason. This may have something to do with the spiralling levels of debt that our nation is facing. However, with this in mind it appears something has gone wrong along the way. Current spending by the central government hit £54.1 billion last month, a 5 percent hike from this time last year. Furthermore, with the recovery plans predicting a snail-pace like return to normality it is no wonder that the Chinese downgraded UK’s credit rating from AA- to A+.

However, as the general consensus quite rightly stated yesterday, it’s time to move on from old cliché’s. Yes the UK is underperforming, but this may not be reflected in the markets. The bottom line is with the state of the Euro looking far more uncertain sterling is seeing short term gains against the single currency.

Dollar

Whilst the US has problems of its own, in the short term investors see buying potential in the Dollar which could see the currency strengthen slightly. The Dollar index reached a seven week high before reports due to be released tomorrow are expected to show that the economy is recovering at a faster pace and initial jobless claims decreased for the third consecutive week.

On the other hand, global fund managers are keeping long term bets against the US Dollar. Whilst the Dollar is expected to rally from time to time, low interest rates will force investors to seek alternatives to US Bonds.

Euro

The façade surrounding Greece could create a debate that could fill the broadsheets a hundred times over. However, as we speak Greece may be forced to sell up to 50bn euros worth of state owned assets to push forward its privatisation drive. If Greece were to default a complex domino effect would take place. If like many you have been wondering why surrounding nations are so keen to avoid this from happening the answer is simple. A default would hurt major French and German banks with Greek subsidiaries, potentially causing a crash in share prices.

Other Currencies – Highlights

In recent days we have been commenting on the yo-yo nature of the Canadian Dollar. However, reports today show that currency may be faltering as indicators suggest that the global economy may be faltering. The loonie as it is often known has weakened against 12 of its most 16 most-traded counterparts.

The South African Rand broke back against the dollar after two days of losses. Commodities rebounded from the biggest drop in nearly two weeks and Greece’s endorsed budget cuts helped push the Rand into a strong position.

For further advice or 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.

In my last two weekly blogs, I had reported that at last the mighty Euro had begun to cave in to the widely discussed pressures of sovereign debt allowing Sterling to gain back some ground - whilst the Dollar had begun to strengthen considerably leaving Sterling behind.

The last week saw a change in tone with Sterling appreciating 0.2 percent on the Dollar and all in all remaining almost flat against the Euro, moving down by only 0.08 percent on the single currency albeit with a few twists and turns along the way. This was largely due to the fact that many fears surrounding the meeting of EU Finance ministers at the start of last week were expelled. Some worried that the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn would lead to meeting delays or conclusions not being reached about the Portuguese bail-out. As soon as the green light was given for the Portuguese bailout however, some pressure was instantly taken off the Euro. There are still ongoing concerns that Greece will have to restructure its debt but the more severe downwards pressure that we have seen on the Euro the previous two weeks seems to have subsided for now.

This is not what those needing to transfer Sterling into Euros for a European property investment will want to hear. Sterling actually had some strong data last week. Apart from better retail sales spurred by the Royal Wedding and warmer weather, the news that inflation had risen in April to as high as 4.5 percent where only 4.1 percent was expected gave some help to the Pound – this is also the sort of data that could provide more ongoing momentum long term as it only adds to the pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates. However, the Bank of England minutes on Wednesday from the last policy meeting two weeks ago, revealed that there is still only stagnant support for a rate rise and it will take more votes to make this happen. Once more, the split in voting was three in favour of an interest rate rise against six who voted to maintain the interest rate at 0.5 percent. There was a time when economists were predicting the hike could come as early as May yet support is not growing.

The UK is still however streets ahead of the US where there is an increasing view that monetary policy will be kept loose for some time yet. This was particularly true this week where after two bounteous weeks of growth, the Dollar stalled in its tracks and reached a plateau as a raft of negative economic data swept in to counteract its rally. Poor data came in the form amongst others of a weak New York economic index, housing starts falling by 10.6 percent, industrial production remaining flat where growth was expected and sales of existing homes also unexpectedly fell. It is now thought unlikely that the US will start to raise interest rates this year at all meaning that there is potential for Sterling growth on the Dollar as the months roll on.

Events to look out for this week will be public sector net borrowing in the UK on Tuesday revealing the state of national debt as well as all important GDP figures on Wednesday giving an overview of how well or not the first quarter really went.

For further advice or 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.

This week we are seeing a continuation of similar currency trends as reported in last week’s blog – once more, Sterling has lost more ground to the Dollar whilst managing to claw back against the Euro. This has been largely caused by intensifying speculation over the extent of debt problems in Greece just as a Portuguese bail out heats up. Markets finally glanced away from their intense focus on interest rates as they digested Trichet’s comments that the next European rate rise will not be immediate. Things also came to a head this Monday as finance ministers met up to talk about sovereign debt issues to the backdrop of the widely reported arrest of the head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, which has led to some uncertainty over leadership and whether financial measures such as those affecting Portugal may be delayed. These issues tarnished the positive GDP data from Europe at the end of last week which revealed that GDP had grown faster than expected.

Those needing to purchase a property in Euros should therefore be aware that Sterling has gained 0.39 percent on the single currency over the past week. This was not without the usual twists and turns however with the currency falling down to the 1.11s against the Euro on Sunday before rising again on Monday. I have an increasing amount of clients selling properties in Europe who need to make Euro conversions back in to Sterling. If this is you, then we need to keep an eye out for these sudden movements as the sort of sudden rate seen on Sunday is great for a Euro - Sterling conversion. One way that you can make sure that you do not miss a rate, even if is touched momentarily, is to use an automatic market order – this means that if your target rate of exchange is hit even when our office is closed overnight or at the weekends, the money will be automatically exchanged for you. Feel free to give me a call to discuss whether this could be a good option for you and how it works.

It was another weekly drop for Sterling against the Dollar which benefited even more from Euro weakness than the Pound. This will not come as good news for those purchasing investments in the US. The fall was quite hefty with the Pound falling by 1.04% on the newly robust Dollar. Better than expected farm payroll data from the US in the previous week had helped the currency and the positive inflation report from the Bank of England, cementing opinions that a UK interest rate hike will happen later this year, was not enough to overcome the newly unstoppable Dollar. Although both the UK and US trade balance figures last week showed worse than expected deficits, the UK’s figures were particularly short of forecasts.

The biggest event for Sterling this week will be the Bank of England minutes on Wednesday. Markets will be rushing to find out whether there was any new support for a rate hike revealed in the voting patterns of members – if this were the case, Sterling is likely to receive another upwards push against the Euro.

For further advice or 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.

Poor manufacturing, construction and house price data made the Pound vulnerable at the start of last week against the Euro. Property investors purchasing in Europe however will be pleased to hear that after dipping as low as 1.11 on Thursday, the Pound has more than compensated against the single currency after Europe held interest rates at 1.25 percent and Trichet suggested that it will be some time before European rates rise again. As some had conversely believed that interest rates in Europe would rise either this month or next month, Sterling managed to shoot up to the 1.14s against the Euro by the end of the week on the back of the news. This extreme level of movement on Thursday and Friday just goes to show how important it is to speak with me at Currency Solutions so I am able to alert you to these kind of sudden moves in the markets.

It is hard to yet say whether the Euro will continue to weaken. The scale of currency movements last week however were very significant and did suggest that the tide could be turning – alongside the interest rate hold was the Portuguese bail out plans in the headlines. The Euro also dropped by 3.3 percent against the Dollar over the course of the week. The US Dollar became the main benefactor of the sudden Euro weakness, with Sterling losing out by 2 percent to the Dollar over the week as a whole. This is not good news for those UK based property investors needing to send funds to the US so it is important to keep an eye on the rates. Unfortunately, the Dollar did manage to solidify its position at the end of last week with much better than expected non-farm payroll data – this is often considered the most insightful type of employment data in the US and could be treated as a key indicator that the US economy is picking up. Should the Dollar continue to strengthen there is always the option of using one of our protective trading options such as a forward contract to fix your rate of exchange in advance and be certain of the cost of your investment to you in Sterling.

For this week, Wednesday will be an important day for Sterling with both the trade balance and the quarterly inflation report due. The inflation report in particular is interpreted by markets in order to make more detailed guesses about when an interest rate hike will be made – should the report suggest that inflation is set to accelerate therefore, we could see some Sterling strengthening. Equally however, if it looks like inflation is creeping back down, markets may continue to choose the Dollar over the Pound. European GDP figures on Friday might help ascertain whether the Euro will continue to be rocked should they come in lower.

For further advice or 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.

The long weekend in the UK sun has left many feeling positive and consumer spending figures fueled by the Royal Wedding celebrations and a likely boost from tourism are already being optimistically gestimated. Any positive figures will be gladly received after poor UK consumer spending figures were hit by the rising cost of living, coupled with nation wide pay freezes. In stark contrast to the Royal Nuptials, the notable news at the start of this week was the termination by US forces of Al Qaeda leader Bin Laden. The immediate effect was a lift in US equity futures, treasury yields, and the US dollar but this has now been unwound. To discuss how world events can effect your trade please contact your broker.

Pound Sterling – UK Markets

Contrasting data in the UK is leaving a few potholes in the road to economic recovery. Strong manufacturing figures are in contrast to constricted consumer spending. Sterling is currently down on both the Euro and the Dollar trading at 1.1160 and 1.65 accordingly at time of writing. Medium sized manufacturers saw orders grow at the fastest rate in 16 years in the three months prior to April according to the CBI with 23 percent experiencing an increase in export figures aided by a weaker pound.

The positive manufacturing figures are weighing in against poor consumer spending and according to some economists; the average middle income house hold will be 800pounds worse off this year if a pay freeze and increased inflation are taken into account. With little sign of an impending interest rate rise, a large correction in exchange rates is unlikely in the short term so clients looking to sell Sterling should speak to their broker to protect themselves against adverse further volatility.

US Dollar – US Markets

The US recovery looks set to be boosted by its manufacturing sector after 21 consecutive months of growth which has been aided by a weak dollar.

Although the manufacturing sector looks to be gaining strength, construction is following at a less consistent pace with February’s data being revised to show a decline of 2.4percent. Economic growth forecasts have been hindered by high energy prices which have weakened consumer spending causing it to fall to 2.7% from 4% in the previous quarter but the US Dollar is currently up against Sterling.

Euro – European Markets

The German economy has long been reported to be booming and Commerzbank; Germany’s second biggest lender has reported growth of 3.9percent. Whilst the trend for Germany is showing strong recovery, many of its Eurozone cousins are still well and truly left in the shade. European banks are facing concerns that the ongoing sovereign debt issues will face new turmoil in 2013 when many of the bonds issued to raise capital will come to maturity. Greece is attempting to negotiate another extension in its loans to avoid a full scale restructuring of its public debt after the expectation for a default has increased with the deficient currently standing at 10.4% of GDP.

Other Currencies – Highlights

Canadian industrial product prices rose 0.9percent in March, led by a 5.7percent rise in raw materials as world commodity prices soared. The CAD is currently trading at 1.5671 against Sterling.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

In last week’s currency blog, I commented on how nothing seemed to be able to stop the Euro in its tracks with the currency reaching the highest levels against Sterling in six months despite all sorts of debt issues being reported in the press. Well, there has been nothing like a major shift but the Euro has finally teetered down from its highest points and shown a little more vulnerability.

Those ongoing sovereign debt issues from the struggling Eurozone nations (known as the PIGS – Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) are creeping out of the woodwork. This is happening at a time when the initial excitement over the European interest rate rise which is what has been responsible for keeping the Euro higher has worn off – but only a little. With Ireland’s credit rating being downgraded and rumours circulating that Greek debt needs restructuring the Euro has dropped mildly against the Pound.

This will be of interest to those UK based buying property investments in Europe. It is definitely worth getting in touch with me for a quote on your exchange and to discuss target rates – and we can keep a firm eye on how this situation pans out. All in all, the Euro has still grown by 1.76 percent on the Pound over the course of the last month which equates to a few thousand Pounds on the average price of a property. This is why it’s so important to be aware of what movements are happening and book the transfer in at the best time – a forward contract allows you to do this and know the cost in Sterling even if your completion does not take place for months.

For those of you exchanging money into Dollars and other major currencies – Sterling is still in a better position against the US currency than the Euro although last week‘s less than forecast UK inflation figure has created some weakness which may continue with Sterling. The inflation figure has suggested to markets that the UK interest rate rise may not now arrive until nearer to the Autumn which is causing Sterling to weaken.

What is the key economic event to look out for this week? Wednesday’s Bank of England minutes are not expected to reveal any surprises, but should they show that any more members voted in favour of an interest rate hike this time round, then I would expect Sterling to strengthen.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

As those of you who have to transfer money over to Europe probably know, the Euro has been having something of a rally over the past month – and nothing seems to be able to stop in its tracks. This is bad news for those of you exchanging Sterling into Euros with the rates at around the worst levels that they have been in five months.

Why the Euro is so strong on first impressions can be difficult to understand. After all, the news is full of reports on the Portuguese bail-out, and the crisis with the Irish banks. Although these debt issues in individual nations may eventually come to a head and pull the euro down, for now, all currency investors have really been concentrating on is the issue of interest rates. Last Thursday saw Europe raise interest rates to 1.25 percent, whilst rates in the UK were held once more at 0.5 percent. This has confirmed the speculation that whereas Europe are tackling inflation head on and trying to provoke growth, the Bank of England are much more cautious about the speed of the recovery in the UK and when an interest rate rise could be withstood.

For those of you exchanging money into Dollars, the picture is much brighter, The US is still seen as lagging much further behind both the UK and Europe with an interest rate hike not seriously on the agenda as of yet and therefore Sterling is in a good position against the Dollar.

What will have an impact on movements this week? Tuesday will be a big day for Sterling with the latest inflation figure coming out. Should this have grown even higher than the 4.4percent figure released last time we could see some Sterling strengthening as this will add pressure to the Bank of England to raise interest rates. There is also potentially damaging data in the mix tomorrow such as retail sales figures (which last month were dire) and the trade balance for the UK so there could be volatility.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

Over generous, foolish or long term economic stability. Whatever your view, Labour’s parting decision to bear a fractional brunt of any bailout necessary within the EU will cost the UK in the coming months. Currently, the single currency sits in a very precarious situation with Portugal requiring a bailout and many suggesting that the plague may spread through Spain as well. Not that the rates reflect this…

Pound Sterling – UK Markets

As predicted, Sterling saw further positive gains against the US Dollar as reports proved correct that the Producer Price Index rose at a faster pace than last month. However, whilst the ECB decided to raise interest rates, BoE decision makers held rates firm at 0.5% as expected even though concerns continue to grow over the excessive rates of inflation.

On the flip side, UK house prices continued to fall as banks reported weakening demand in the sector. Average house prices in England and Wales declined by 0.1% from February whilst mortgage approvals actually gained by 4.3% last month to the highest levels since May last year. Mixed reviews across the board are set to confuse us all over the coming weeks.

US Dollar – US Markets

Conventional theory suggests that more often than not, should the Euro strengthen, the US Dollar should fall in sequence. With this in mind it has come at no surprise that both the Euro and Sterling have seen further gains against the dwindling currency.

Currently, everyone has their own view on the state of the US Dollar and with other nations appearing to gain momentum in the global economic recovery; your broker may be able to shed some light on the current state of the world’s power nation.

Euro – European Markets

Following the ECB’s decision to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percent up to 1.25 % yesterday, it appeared as though the currency markets had already factored in any possible movements. On the back of this, the ripples of the decision later seeped into the German export markets which climbed a whopping 2.7% in February causing the Euro to strengthen further against both the Dollar and Sterling.

However, with most of us feeling that Euro currently represents a very false representation of the true situation currently facing the continent, ECB President Jean Claude Trichet placed stark warning over the true picture. He placed great emphasis on the debt issues facing several nations and the overall bleeding effect that may eventually occur should Spain follow Portugal by going cap-in-hand to the EU. Spain strongly refuse that they will do so but most feel that this may be just be denial.

Other Currencies – Highlights

Few of our clients may not actually be aware that we are one of the only Foreign Exchange Brokerages in the UK to offer the Brazilian Real as a tradable currency. As an emerging currency, the BRL has seen further gains this week as Finance Minister, Guido Mantega announced long term currency appreciation is a given. The real gained up to 2% against the US Dollar on the back of this to its strongest intraday level since last August.

Following the recent disaster in Japan, both the Australian and New Zealand Dollar continued their recovery as traders added to thoughts that a further interest rate rise is expected over the next 12 months.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

In my last blog I described that Sterling rates against the US Dollar had been particularly strong with us reaching some of the highest levels in a year. Unfortunately for those exchanging Sterling into Dollars, this has now completely reversed. The Dollar has had a new found rally since last Friday after several policy makers in the US made public comments to suggest that an interest rate rise as well as the withdrawal of stimulus measures there being used to shore up the economy may be made sooner than expected. The US had been seen as seriously lagging behind Europe and the UK in terms of economic recovery whereas this kind of talk suggests that the gap is getting closer. If you need to make a Sterling to Dollar transfer therefore for a property investment this is a time to be very careful in terms of what may happen with exchange rates as the tide is turning. You can speak to me about options we have to help you protect your transfer from this kind of volatility.

There is more bad news for Sterling in rates against the Euro. Despite the fact that the Euro has dropped against many other major currencies due to a plethora of problems emerging in various member states, the currency is, infuriatingly for those who need make a transfer into Euros, still holding very strong against the Pound. Problems with Portuguese debt levels as well as the defeat of Angela Merkel’s party in Germany have bought a cloud of uncertainty over Europe seeing it sliding against currencies such as the Dollar. Against the Pound however, the fact that an interest rate rise is expected in Europe possibly in April, far earlier than a rise is due here, is keeping the Euro stronger.

The Pound is also weak due to the UK’s own internal problems. Dire retail figures came out last week for February which were taken quite seriously by markets. They were so low that they suggested the VAT rise might after all be having a negative effect and also caused the UK’s AAA credit rating as a nation come under potential threat.

All in all, not good news on exchange rates for those needing to make a Sterling transfer into another currency. You can speak to me about how to protect yourself from these kind of drops. If you are selling a property abroad and bringing money back to the UK of course, the exchange rates are very much in your favour.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

Sterling rates against the US Dollar have been very strong over the past few weeks and this has continued this week with the Pound reaching some of the highest levels in a year against the US currency. For anyone purchasing American property investments this is therefore great news. If you need to transfer money to the US in the future, don’t forget that you can use a forward contract to book today’s rate for a future deal. Feel free to speak to me with your queries on this.

The story against the Euro has been quite different which is unfortunate news for all of you who send money over from the UK to maintain properties in Europe or are indeed purchasing property there. Due to the fact that an interest rate rise is still expected to occur in Europe much sooner than in the UK (as soon as next month in Europe) the Euro has steadily strengthened on the Pound with us dropping down to inter-bank levels at worst of around 1.145.

This looked set to change yesterday when UK inflation levels came in soaring at 4.4 percent. This gave Sterling some renewed strength as this suggested that the inflationary pressure on the economy may force the Bank of England to raise interest rates sooner. This was quickly dampened today however when the Bank of England minutes from March were released which showed that no more members of the policy committee voted for an interest rate rise. This afternoon’s UK budget has also not helped the currency to strengthen. There has been some volatility throughout the afternoon with the Pound making further mild losses as markets digest the information included in the budget. The instant reaction suggests that despite targeted moves to promote growth in the weakest areas with measures such as scrapping the fuel duty rise and help for first time buyers, currency markets have not been encouraged enough to begin flowing of funds into Sterling.

Anyone who needs a Sterling transfer to Euros is best advised to speak to me at Currency Solutions to discuss target rates and protecting yourself from volatility. If you have Euros to bring back into Sterling, then now is a great time to book the transfer and take advantage of the rates.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

Budget-day in the UK has already seen some significant Sterling movement with the Bank of England minutes this morning causing the Pound to depreciate in value. With no new policy members voting for a rate hike, the minutes did not suggest that an interest rate rise will occur any earlier than already thought. This has sapped some of the gains made by the Pound yesterday on the back of the soaring inflation figure at 4.4 percent. The UK budget this afternoon will be watched by currency markets in order for them to interpret how well the economic recovery is likely to continue.

Pound Sterling – UK Markets

Following a surge in Sterling yesterday bought about by the soaring inflation levels up to 4.4.percent, the Bank of England minutes have arrived this morning to dampen Sterling and send it lower as they revealed that there have been no further members voting for a rate hike. The minutes last month helped Sterling gain as they revealed an extra member had joined the rate hawks in voting for a rise - but this month there were no new additions and the same three members voted for a rise. The timing for the predicted 0.25 rise was also termed as likely to occur in ‘the middle of the year’ whereas last month the minutes had been a little more promising suggesting the hike would come in ‘early summer’.

The fact that most members are waiting for more sustained growth figures has not helped the currency as we also encounter the UK budget today.

US Dollar – US Markets

The Dollar has been gaining back on the Pound so far this morning following the UK Bank of England minutes but dropping against the Euro although the movement has been volatile. With so much focus on European and UK interest rates, as well as debt issues in Europe and the UK budget this afternoon the Dollar is really responding to broader themes meaning that new home sales data this afternoon is likely to be overlooked.

Euro – European Markets

The Euro has come under pressure as both Ireland and Portugal have moved back into the spotlight for struggling to pay off their debt. A vote on austerity measures in Portugal today is making the Euro particularly vulnerable on speculation that the measures will not be passed which may then subsequently incite a resignation from the Portuguese Prime Minister. Whilst the possibility that European interest rates could rise as early as next month has been fuelling the Euro, lingering issues over debt are coming back to the fore. As well as the situation in Portugal, rumours are circulating that Allied Irish Banks are planning to miss a coupon payment struggling to have enough funds.

Other Currencies – Highlights

The Swiss Franc has risen alongside the Yen as a safe-haven with ongoing uncertainty about radiation in Japan leaking from a damaged nuclear plant.

The safe haven currencies are also strengthening in response to the alliance-led planned attacks on Libyan ground forces.

This is the best time in over a year to make a Sterling transfer into US Dollars following a significant drop in the dollar matched by a surge in Sterling on the back of staggeringly high inflation figures released in the UK this morning. If you have a Sterling to Dollar transfer in the future, it is a good time to check in with your broker now and find out about fixing rates of exchange with a forward contract to make sure that you don’t miss out. This morning’s inflation figure up at 4.4 percent will add renewed pressure to the Bank of England to raise interest rates.

Pound Sterling – UK Markets

Sterling has seen a surge overnight and this morning as CPI data revealed that inflation had grown to a staggering high of 4.4 percent. The Pound in particular is at its strongest levels against the Dollar since early 2010.

The inflation figure at 4.4 percent is over twice the Bank of England target of 2 percent and also higher than the official forecast of 4.2 percent. It also demonstrates another move upwards from last month’s figure of 4 percent. The soaring figure will suggest to markets that an interest rate rise may be forced from the Bank of England in early summer and has helped flout thoughts that this would be pushed back later into 2011.

This morning’s retail price index also came in showing above forecast growth for February with monthly growth at 1 percent.

Apart from the budget tomorrow, the Bank of England minutes released at 9.30am will be crucial for Sterling. Last month, the minutes revealed that three members voted for a rate hike. Should another member have joined the vote for a rate rise this time around, we could see some more Sterling upwards momentum.

US Dollar – US Markets

The Dollar Index, which measures the Dollar against its other major currency counterparts, has fallen to a fifteen month low. The Euro has reached four and a half month highs on the US currency whilst Sterling has reached its highest levels since January 2010.

This broad downwards pressure on the Dollar has suggested to some analysts that the its safe-haven status has all but vanished of late. A slump in US existing home sales which are at the lowest level in 9 years and the fact that there are no immediate expectations for an interest rate rise in the US in comparison to Europe where a rise is expected as soon as next month, and the UK where a rise is expected in the summer are adding further pressure.

Later today sees a speech by Geithner, Secretary of the US Department of Treasury on how he observes the current US economy.

Euro – European Markets

The Euro has soared against the US Dollar as expectations rise that the European interest rate hike will come next month following comments from ECB board member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell and council member Yves Mersch that strong vigilance was necessary to keep down inflation. There have also been comments to suggest that economic uncertainty due to events in Japan, will not, as some have expected, push back when Europe might make a rate rise. ECB Governing Council member Guy Quaden is due to speak in Brussels today.

Tomorrow sees industrial new orders data from Europe in the morning followed by consumer confidence figures in the afternoon.

Other Currencies – Highlights

The Canadian Dollar surged against the US Dollar by the most in almost seven weeks as crude oil prices continue to rise as turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East continues. As well as the rising oil prices, the Canadian Dollar is also benefiting from the return to riskier currencies as the nuclear crisis in Japan is coming further under control.

In last week’s blog, I reported that the time was ripe for booking Sterling to US Dollar transfers, with rates moving up towards 1.63. We are still in a relatively strong position against the US Dollar so anyone UK based buying property or sending funds to the US has not yet missed out.

Sterling rates against the Euro on the other hand, have swung down with the Pound at some of the lowest rates for five weeks against the single currency so this is a key time for those purchasing property in Europe to use me at Currency Solutions to help them keep an eye on the rates.

As has been widely reported in the press, rates between the Pound and the Euro are being largely driven by discussions over interest rates at present. Last week saw Trichet speak on behalf of the European Central Bank after the interest rate meeting – although interest rates were held at 1 percent as was expected, it was Trichet’s comments that sent the Euro higher. Whereas until last week, there was an expectation that a rate rise in the UK would come before a rate rise in Europe, the tables are now turning as Trichet suggested an interest rate rise in Europe might come as soon as next month.

The currency markets are never simple however and there are a multitude of other factors at play to be aware of in the Sterling Euro relationship. Whilst the hype over interest rates may continue to maintain the Euro’s strength in the near term, the sovereign debt problems with several Euro nations are still lurking in the background. Just this morning, the Euro was slightly shaken as news emerged that Moody’s Investors were downgrading Greek Government debt. With nations such as Greece trying to re-negotiate the terms of their debt with the European Central Bank, it’s important to remember that fiscal policy and debt tends to return time after time to haunt Europe – and indeed the Euro. The hype over an interest rate rise in Europe therefore may only compensate for some of the serious underlying problems in patches in the long term. The rate against Sterling will also depend on whether the UK interest rate hike – currently ear marked for early summer – is moved any further forward pending discussion at this Thursday’s rate meeting and the next set of Bank of England minutes in two week’s time.

Anyone who needs a Sterling transfer to Euros is best advised to speak to me at Currency Solutions to discuss target rates and protecting yourself from volatility. If you have Euros to bring back into Sterling, then now is a great time to book the transfer and take advantage of the rates.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

As has become the norm recently, Sterling has been having a volatile time.

No sooner did poor GDP figures at the end of last week send the currency lower, than positive mortgage approvals figures so far this week caused the currency to accelerate against other major currencies – in particular the rate against the US Dollar has become particularly attractive, with Sterling hitting the 1.63 interbank rate against the US Dollar so far this week.

This is also due to the US economy being put under a microscope this week and compared to other global economies as the Governor of the Federal Reserve spends the week testifying and giving press conferences on the official outlook for growth. Unfortunately for the Dollar, the US is being seen as lagging behind other global economies. In particular, higher levels of inflation and price pressures are really putting on pressure for an interest rate rise in the UK and Europe whereas the US does not yet seem to be anywhere near as likely to make any sort of rate rise.

Closer to home for the US, the Canadian economy is also comparatively pushing ahead. The Canadian Dollar has inordinately strengthened in response to surging exports and a well above forecast level of GDP.

In Europe, markets are waiting for the interest rate decision this Thursday. Whilst it is more than widely expected that rates will be held this time round, many officials from the Central Bank have publically spoken about the need to seriously start considering raising interest rates. The interest rate ‘race’ between Europe and the UK is one of the factors bringing so much volatility between the UK and European currencies of late.

The final factor still casting influence is tensions in the Middle East. Whilst the initial affect of these tensions was to cause a flight to safety sending the Dollar higher, the main effect on currency is now stemming from the surge the tensions have caused in oil prices – with soaring oil prices now sending the Euro higher and knocking the US Dollar.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

Just in case you hadn’t noticed the financial press is becoming increasingly obsessed with interest rates – not just in the UK but in Europe as well – and this is one of the key factors influencing exchange rates this week. The other major factor is the effect of political tensions in the Middle East.

This Wednesday saw the Bank of England minutes released that arrive every month, two weeks after the policy meeting, to reveal how voting was split on interest rate decisions. Sterling crept up at 9.30am this morning by about 0.4 percent on most other major currencies in the first half an hour as the minutes revealed that joining the two voters for a rate rise from last month was another member. With three now voting for an interest rate rise, there is ever-increasing speculation that an interest rate rise will come earlier and earlier. When the interest rate rise does occur, we would expect to see this lift Sterling. Most pointers are now indicating to ‘early summer’ – which is the fairly vague time that was mentioned in this morning’s minutes.

As mentioned however, the interest rate hype is kicking off in Europe as well, meaning that the Euro has also been faring quite well this week as officials from the European Central Bank give comments suggesting that they are beginning to see a rate hike as more likely. News from the wider Euro zone has also been positive with activity in the factory industry growing at its fastest rate since June 2000, reaching 59 in the index and PMI reaching a four and half year high at 58.4.

There is something acting against the Euro this week however which has tempered gains. That is the effect of tensions in Libya causing currency investors to become more cautious and return to their ‘safe-haven’ flows. For this reason, the US Dollar became stronger towards the start of this week and this may continue depending on how the political situation there pans out.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

Valentines Day – I get what is obviously a card through the post to the Currency Solutions office this morning. Has my secret admirer finally got in touch? I rip it open to discover that…it is from a marketing company as a promotional gimmick. Sigh.

Fortunately the Pound may be looking forward to a more exciting week with some expecting that this week’s focus on inflation – with the actual CPI inflation figures tomorrow and the quarterly inflation report on Wednesday – which could push the Pound higher if inflation once more comes in well above target. This could provide further momentum to Sterling although much will depend on what the inflation report actually says and also how the subsequent comments from the Bank of England Governor Mervyn King are interpreted. Should the Bank of England concede that inflation is high but that too many other factors prevent an interest rate rise to deal with this, it is also possible that the Pound may lose ground. Therefore, it is best for anyone needing a transfer involving Sterling to speak with me to help them stay very much on top of how markets react to these events on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The rates won’t just depend on what is happening with UK inflation alone however but will also depend on what is happening in the other respective economies. Trade balance figures and GDP figures from the Eurozone tomorrow will affect the Sterling rate against the Euro whilst the US will be experiencing a wealth of data from Tuesday to Friday which could trigger a lot of volatility against the Dollar falling in key areas such as employment, inflation, and imports and exports. The best tact for this week will be to very much stay on top of how markets are reacting.

Don’t forget that we can help any of you taking advice from Property Secrets on the Brazilian market. If you are investing in Brazil, we are one of the only UK foreign exchange firms that offer Brazilian Real transfers. This week, a weekly survey by the Brazilian Central Bank has suggested that economists have reduced their forecasts for growth in Brazil but have also predicted faster inflation which could lead to currency strengthening.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

The Pound is starting the week at the 1.16s against the Euro – lower than last Monday when we came off the starting blocks at 1.17 but the Pound has actually regained some ground over the weekend from lower falls to 1.154 on Friday and 1.153 last Wednesday when we saw decidedly low GDP figures knock the Pound down.

This kind of volatility is becoming ever more normal of late as uncertainty over how well various economic recoveries are actually progressing is called in to question. Whilst there had been murmurings that UK GDP for the last quarter of 2010 may come in lower than forecast due to bad weather, nothing could have prepared the UK markets for the quarterly figure released by the Bank of England on Wednesday last week. The expectation for positive growth at 0.5 percent actually came in at -0.5 percent showing a slowing economy. Sterling took an instant slide downwards in reaction and the impact of this is likely to ensure that the currency is fragile for some time to come until stronger data comes in and shores up confidence. The fact that the monthly Bank of England minutes last week also indicated that an interest rate rise has been ear marked for August (when some had been getting excited that a rate rise may come as early as May or June) has also had a dampening effect.

Events to watch this week will be Wednesday’s PMI Construction data in the UK – markets will be hoping this may indicate whether or not the GDP figure was accurate or an under-estimation as it will reveal how construction fared in December and if the weather had the same significant effect.

US payrolls on Friday may have an impact on the American currency depending on whether these come in on target and continue last week’s good run. Broader market themes however are casting their influence above and beyond some of the individual data releases as the political uncertainty stemming from the Egyptian protests is pushing up safer currencies with riskier currencies such as the Euro becoming weaker over the weekend. ‘Safe’ currencies such as the Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen and US Dollar have pushed up in response to the situation in Egypt. Should protests continue throughout this week then this trend may dominate markets this week.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

Sterling has taken something of a battering this week. Although it has recovered some of the ground snatched away by Tuesday’s terrible – 0.5 percent GDP figures, subsequent data has not particularly lifted the mood. Judging by the Bank of England minutes, and poor consumer confidence figures coming in last night an interest rate rise does not looking likely until at least August. David Cameron has made a speech in Davros at the World Economic Forum with a strong stance on spending cuts being the way to get the UK economy back on track, although he did concede that the pace of recovery will be choppy.

With so much uncertainty in the UK markets and many of our clients having regular overseas mortgage or pension payments to make, this is a good time to ask your broker about our regular payments service. This allows you to fix a rate for your regular standing order so you have no nasty surprises as the months unfold!

Pound Sterling – UK Markets

The Pound slipped against the Euro as the CBI Trades Survey Data yesterday indicated trends in retail and whole sale distribution came in with a lower reading than expected for January. This was followed by GFK consumer confidence figures which were released at midnight and revealed a drop to a two year low in UK consumer confidence.

This downbeat end to the week in terms of data may shift slightly depending on how David Cameron’s speech on the UK economy in Davos is treated in the press and by markets. He has defended moves made by the coalition and whilst focusing on the seriousness of the economic situation, justifying spending cuts, he also highlighted progress made such as the UK’s ability to maintain its credit rating.

US Dollar – US Markets

The US Dollar fell against the Pound throughout the second half of yesterday on the back of weak economic data but is picking up again this morning. Poor weekly jobless figures were the key disappointment yesterday and markets will be closely watching US GDP figures for the fourth quarter today.

Initial jobless claims rose by 51,000 last week to 454,000 where only a rise to 409,000 was expected by markets. Durable goods orders also fell although existing home sales did rise by 2 percent in December.

Today’s release of fourth quarter GDP figures are awaited with baited breath following the shock contraction in UK GDP for the same period earlier this week. In theory, the GDP announcement, should in come in as expected and fuel the Dollar. An annual figure of 3.5 percent is expected, up from 2.6 percent in the previous quarter. Should this fall under expectation due to poor weather as was the case in the UK, the currency could be set for an end of week slide. The release is 1.30pm GMT so speak with your broker before then regarding Dollar rates.

Euro – European Markets

The Euro has experienced moderate gains against the Pound and Dollar and is still in a relatively strong position following Trichet’s comments that the European Central Bank are determined to keep a cap on inflation which has raised speculation about when an interest rate rise might occur.

Data yesterday also revealed that economic confidence was high meaning that news that Belgium may suffer a ratings downgrade due to political deadlock has now impacted on the single currency as of yet.

Other Currencies – Highlights

The Canadian Dollar has gained again against the US Dollar having now traded at levels stronger than parity with the American currency for the 23rd straight day.

The currency also strengthened against most of its other counterparts even though crude oil prices fell as stocks and copper climbed. The US interest rate decision yesterday to maintain the record low rates is also expected to shore up demand for industrial metals.

For a live quote or to tell us about your foreign exchange requirements, please click here or call us on +44 (0)20 7740 0000.

We are starting the week with the Pound in a weaker position against the Euro, having fallen to 1.17 from 1.18 at the start of last week. Many clients have been surprised that this is the case as overall sentiment about Europe and the future of the Euro is fairly negative with the latest problems being the issues of the break-up of the coalition majority in Ireland over the weekend as the Green Party removed their support.

Currency markets however really do work on a day by day (even minute by minute) basis using the economic calendar of data releases to really steer where investor’s funds are moved to, and subsequently which currencies strengthen. In economic terms, last week saw more successful bond auctions in the Euro-zone shoring up confidence about the ability of cash-strapped nations to raise funds and there have been other positive announcements such as increasing business confidence in France and Germany.

The Irish situation could of course create downwards pressure for the Euro should it emerge that there will be a definite problem with the implementation of the European bailout package being dependent on an overall Government majority to pass all the required measures.

Other than this, it will predominantly be the Pound and the US Dollar in the spotlight this week. Tuesday sees UK GDP figures which tend to be quite significant in terms of Sterling coming in for the fourth quarter of 2010. There are some concerns that GDP could edge lower than official forecasts due to the impact of the winter weather which could be detrimental for the Pound on Tuesday. We also have the Bank of England minutes from the latest monetary policy committee meeting on Wednesday which markets will analyse in detail as to any clues about when the rise in interest rates might be.

In the US, GDP figures are also due, but on Friday. Some economists have given predictions that it could be a good week for the Dollar with consumer confidence, consumer spending and GDP expected to show growth. The next interest rate decision is also due from the Federal Reserve but with rates expected to stay the same the build up of data throughout the week may be what is significant in terms of rate movements.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

For anyone UK-based buying property in Europe, a change has occurred in the cost price to the property of around 4 percent over the past two weeks, purely through the Sterling to Euro exchange rates. Over the past two weeks, the Pound has moved up from the 1.16 levels against the Euro, first reaching the 1.20s and then faltering again at the end of last week to find itself at around the mid 1.19s at the start of this week.

As many property buyers see 1.20 as the key resistance level, ideally hoping that they can achieve a rate of 1.21 or 1.22 for a Pound-Euro transfer, it is a good idea that they speak with me at Currency Solutions early. This way, I can make you aware when Sterling pushes through this barrier and discuss the options available to you about fixing into this rate – even if the actual exchange doesn’t need to happen for several months. Some clients like to put an actual ‘market order’ in place where funds can be automatically exchanged at the target rate. Others prefer a more flexible approach and to be regularly in touch with me to monitor the exchange rates as they develop.

What has caused these fluctuations against the Euro? The most recent moves have been largely due to events in the Euro zone. Amidst rumours that Portugal will be the next nation to require an EU bailout package after Ireland, bond auctions held by Portugal, Spain and Italy were surprisingly successful last week. These events helped to shore up confidence about the state of Europe’s economic recovery which is why we have seen Sterling move slightly lower against the single currency. Saying that however, this week could shake things up and certainly so far today has seen the Pound gaining back ground on the Euro. Several meetings this week could bring more movement to the Euro rates including finance meetings taking place concerning whether or not nations can agree on whether to increase the size of the bail out funds as well as the vote of confidence on the Irish Prime Minister tomorrow. It is not impossible that Sterling could make it back up above 1.20 if the outcomes of these should be negative or fuel uncertainty in Europe.

The Pound has been gaining strength against the US Dollar and is starting the week at around the 1.59 levels. The Dollar has shown some weakness in the face of Euro strengthening and comments from rating agency Standard and Poor’s that the US credit rating could be at risk has also created some downwards pressure. With both the UK and the US facing a week of mixed data, both the Pound and the Dollar could experience volatility.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

On last week’s blog we reported that the Pound was at around the 1.16 levels against the Euro – this week we are starting in a much brighter position with the rate up to 1.20. This is great news for anyone UK based who might be purchasing property or moving funds over to Europe.

Will these kind of levels last? The main reason for the weakening Euro has been ongoing concerns regarding the sovereign debt issues that refuse to go away. It has been reported in the press that Portugal is steadily shaping up to be the next nation after Ireland that will require – or may be forced to accept – EU rescue funds to shore up the failing economy. This, alongside a series of bond auctions due in Italy, Spain and Portugal throughout this week, are dragging the Euro down. The bond auctions this week are expected to show that demand has diminished for European assets and have the potential to pull the Euro down further. If you have any foreign exchange transfers to make involving the Euro therefore, it is advisable to get in touch with me at Currency Solutions to find out how you can either minimise losses or maximise gains this week by booking the transfer at the right time as well as choosing the best transfer option.

Anyone emigrating to or buying property in Australia will find the currency has been weakening due to the severe flooding in Queensland. The Australian economy is largely dependent on its exports and the cost of the floods themselves as well as the fact that the floods have significantly stifled export activity which has made the economy more vulnerable. If you will be transferring funds into the Australian Dollar in the upcoming months, it is important to remember that you can always fix an exchange rate in advance by using a forward contract to secure a preferential rate today for the future.

In other currencies, the US Dollar and Canadian Dollar are still fairing well. The US Dollar after growing in strength throughout last week has taken a slight hit against Sterling following poorer than expected jobs figures at the end of last week. It has still however gained ground on the Euro. The Canadian currency is doing well on better than expected jobs data as well as the increase in crude oil prices.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

If you are buying or selling a property this year, or moving overseas, January is a good time to start talking to a currency broker to discuss when in the year you will be needing the transfer and discussing what sort of rate you want to achieve. The most money is saved on overseas property purchases by those that not only use a broker to avoid the bank’s poor rates of exchange but also use all the tools available to them to ensure that they catch the very best exchange rate in the constantly moving markets.

A forward contract for example allows you to book an exchange rate well in advance of needing the transfer - meaning that if a fantastic rate is achieved months before you need to complete you can still take advantage of this. With various nations across the globe still pulling themselves into recovery at different paces, we are likely to see another volatile year in the currency markets. Throughout 2010 for example, the cost of an overseas property to someone needing a GBP – EURO transfer fluctuated by 11 percent.

In terms of short term movements this week, UK markets have opened with Sterling at the 1.56 levels against the Dollar and the 1.16 levels against the Euro. The Pound has experienced fairly varied and volatile movement against the Euro and Dollar since the weekend so far – as well as gaining on the Australian Dollar.

Economic news is focusing around very strong manufacturing figures coming out of the US as well as the new VAT rise in the UK. The US manufacturing figures have added to growing optimism for a strengthening US economy into the coming year and there has been a certain amount of hype over whether the UK VAT rise will have a negative impact on retail figures and consumer spending which could therefore bring a wave of data to make Sterling more vulnerable.

In terms of what may move the exchange rates this week there is a significant amount of data from Europe on the remaining days of this week such as retail sales and unemployment figures, and significant employment and payroll statistics from the US on Thursday and Friday which is positive as expected, may push the Dollar higher.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

…It’s the last currency blog of 2010 and what a year it has been for the exchange rates. For those buying or selling property whether as an investment or for reasons of moving abroad the movements that have occurred in exchange rates could have affected the cost of the property by 11 % for a property purchased in Euros, 15 % for Australian Dollars and 13 % for US Dollars over the past year.

To start with the short term weekly currency update for those needing to book a transfer before the end of the year, we are seeing a weakening Euro, strengthening US Dollar and reasonably subdued Pound to start off this week. Whereas the Pound is performing well against the Euro, its not so good news for anyone buying property in the US with the Dollar gaining on Sterling. Is this likely to change this week? The general reason for the current state of play is that ongoing debt issues in Europe are causing  more and more nations from Ireland to Spain and Belgium to make headlines as their international credit ratings are pulled down by ratings agencies. This, alongside other events that bring uncertainty such as the tensions in North Korea, make currency investors nervous therefore pushing up safer currencies such as the US Dollar and Australian Dollar whereas riskier higher-yielding currencies such as the Euro tend to drop.

As is the case every week, there are some short term upcoming events that will cause movements that can be taken advantage of by speaking with myself to keep their eye on the rates for you. In particular this week, we see revision to UK GDP figures as well as the Bank of England minutes and also US GDP figures. If you have a transfer due now or in 2011 it is a good idea to discuss this in advance so you can be sure ensure that you book the transfer at the best time.

It will also be important to bear in mind that currency investors – those that indeed affect the exchange rates by the positions they take – will be choosing positions to keep their funds in for the Christmas period with the likelihood that larger safer currencies will be the most popular and therefore likely to strengthen. For the same reason, those currencies linked to commodities – the Canadian Dollar, South African Rand, and Australian Dollar may also do well.

For further advice or 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.

Monday has opened with the volatile momentum that we may continue to see over the next five days. The week is starting with the Pound moving down from the 1.19s to the 1.18s against the Euro and the 1.58s to the 1.57s against the US Dollar as some poor housing data has taken a hit to the Pound. The housing sector is often the Achilles heel in the UK economy with the Rightmove index this time showing a price decrease of -3% in stark contrast to the strengthening manufacturing sector which we saw last week conversely boost the currency. Today’s drop however is an immediate movement rather than the overall picture. The larger portrait of currency movements is still all-dependent on the European sovereign debt crisis with the Pound generally maintaining strength against the beleaguered Euro, whilst the US Dollar also gains as a safe haven. Also significant will be UK inflation data on Tuesday – this does in fact have the potential to push Sterling higher as a high reading raises expectations that interest rates will eventually rise.

Since the last blog the Irish budget got passed in the Irish Parliament although this was by a slim majority. This may well have done something to calm fears about Euro-zone debt although as tends to be the case with Europe of late, the focus is simply shifting onto the next obstacle to be overcome. Namely, European leaders have been publically disagreeing about the best way to handle the form and quantity of rescue funds required. As there is a meeting due beginning on the 16th this week regarding this, it is likely that uncertainty will continue to plague the Euro this week.

As for the US Dollar, last week we reported that poorer jobs figures had dragged down the currency. This week the situation has turned around with consumer confidence and trade balance data coming in above forecasts last week and helping the Dollar up on Friday from a fall on Thursday. This week sees the interest rate decision on Tuesday and inflation data on Wednesday.

The UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and China all held interest rates last week. Although this was widely expected for the most part other than China, it does signify a slowing down of recovery globally. Although it has been much debated whether the UK should raise interest rates to deal with high levels of inflation, the Bank of England seem set on monetary policy for now. In terms of the Pound, one of the largest upcoming challenges looking several week’s ahead, will be January’s VAT rise.

For further advice or 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.

This week is beginning with the US Dollar on the downturn and the Euro holding steady following a tip in the balance between the two major currencies last week.

The recent uncertainty surrounding the impact of Irish debt on other European nations which had pulled the Euro down in the earlier part of last week, has been subsiding in response to announcements from the European Central Bank that various support measures will be extended. There is by no means any certainty that the re-strengthening Euro will last however, with a string of events this week very capable of bringing about volatility. A monetary policy meeting is due in Belgium which may well bring tensions about how to handle rescue packages and sovereign debt between different nations to the surface. The situation in Ireland will also be bought very much back on to the agenda with the Irish budget due on Tuesday. The main problem is that the coalition Government have only a very slim majority and the recue package from Europe relies on Ireland themselves allocating a significant chunk of their budget to the package – should this not find support in Government, the Euro could well see downwards pressure as the week moves on.

The US Dollar responded particularly badly to a poor set of data on jobs and employment levels on Friday and has continued to slide over the weekend and in the early part of Monday. Where positive news of 130,000 new jobs were expected to have been added in November, only 39,000 materialised. This has raised questions over whether the latest round of quantitative easing from the US will have any impact on employment – one of the most critical areas of the economy – and whether any additional measures will need to be taken. Although this is the key issue currently putting pressure on the US Dollar, salvation could come for the currency should the Euro suffer this week. If the Irish budget and other European issues bring back uncertainty to the single currency, we would typically see the US Dollar strengthening as a safe haven instead. Speak with your broker for any transfers involving US Dollars and it may be advisable early on in the week bearing in mind that this Friday is another heavy US data day with the trade balance, consumer sentiment and monthly budget statement all due in the afternoon.

This week is also one of interest rate decisions from Australia and Canada on Tuesday, New Zealand on Wednesday and the UK on Thursday. Although no interest rate rises are expected, particularly from the UK, the event will typically push back issues such as rising inflation into the mindset of markets with the minutes following the meeting in two weeks time reflecting the split in voting and revealing further insights.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

This week opens with Euro volatility and the news that the Irish rescue package has been signed in Dublin over the weekend. Several EU politicians have spoken out to try and present this as a means by which calm and stability will be brought back to the Euro as any further impact of Irish debt on its trading partners and the rest of the Europe has been curbed. But is this really the case? The run up to the actual signing of the deal throughout last week took place amid protests in Ireland, and deepening political problems with calls for an earlier general election. One of the foremost problems is that Ireland’s ruling coalition have a very thin majority and the date of the Irish budget is looming on December 7th.  Even though the deal for European rescue funds has now been signed therefore, there are some questions over how easily the Irish budget cuts will get passed, coupled with the fact a brand new Government might be in place early next year, who may unpick the conditions of the rescue package.

The Euro therefore found itself under intense pressure over the course of last week falling 3.3 percent against the Dollar and 1.2 percent against the Pound. The position at the start of this week is a little uncertain – it has lost more ground to the Dollar but began rising on the Pound over the weekend. It is likely that markets are weighing up the issues with the Eurozone and whether or not this deal is enough to reinstate confidence in the Euro. There is also the problem of the other European nations with rising debt and borrowing levels. Portugal is coming under increased scrutiny and being tipped as the next nation that might need a rescue package, despite the denial of officials at present that this will be needed – this is a familiar tune heard from Ireland however and the EU have proved that they now have the authority to insist on nation’s receiving rescue packages to protect the overall interests of the Euro area.

Any news coming from US and UK markets has been largely overshadowed as the European situation, as well as the problems in Korea, have been kept in the limelight. The US Dollar has typically benefited from all the economic and political uncertainty as the world’s largest safe haven currency and the Pound has therefore lost out to the US Dollar over the course of last week as a result. The on track UK GDP figures helped Sterling in its rise on the Euro last week but it seems to be starting the week on a vulnerable footing given its drop against the Euro – a drop in UK mortgage approvals and house prices have kicked off the week on a negative. Sentiment about the UK economy may now start to see a general shift. With the hype over the soaring third quarter GDP figures and higher inflation over, there are key areas of the economy such as housing that are failing to recover. The VAT rise of January will in all likelihood add to this Sterling fragility with an interest rate rise by the Bank of England being one of the only steps that could perhaps push Sterling significantly upwards as we move into 2011.

For further advice or 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.

The first part of this week has been struck by ups and downs in Euro uncertainty which is the dominant factor influencing the broader currency markets.

Initially, the announcement that the EU would be providing a rescue package to Ireland after several weeks of speculation pushed the Euro higher, as this ended the uncertainty and revealed the EU as a dominant force able to impose conditions on single-currency nations. As the effects of this became more apparent in Ireland however, the Euro again became vulnerable and experienced some downwards movement as political uncertainty crept into play as there were calls for an early general election in Ireland. This calls further into question whether the actual rescue package could indeed be implemented or whether any new Government may pick the terms of the rescue deal apart. Other European nations are now also under pressure as questions are raised on who might be next in line for rescue funds with Portugal being flagged up as in need.

The main champion of all this mixed Euro fortune has as usual been the safe haven currencies – with the US Dollar and Swiss France becoming stronger. Upwardly revised US GDP figures, as well as the trouble in Korea, have also helped push up the US Dollar.

In terms of economic growth, the UK has been having a good week so far with the main event being revised GDP figures for the third quarter. The good news is that these were not revised downwards and maintained the level of growth at 0.8 percent (when they initially came out in October the 0.8 percent rate hugely over achieved against the 0.4 percent prediction). Generally speaking, data out of the UK is still strong but looking longer term to a few months ahead, the UK – and Sterling – has the impact of spending cuts and then also the VAT rise in January to deal with.

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, there is a UK distributive trade survey on Thursday morning and the German Producer Price Index as well as European Monetary Supply on Friday.

For further advice or 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.

The Pound has broadly gained since last week largely due to last week’s Bank of England inflation report on Wednesday. At the start of this week we touched the 1.18 levels against the Euro and have reached 1.60 against the US Dollar. With the amount of volatility that we have recently seen, it is worth considering booking a transfer or fixing a rate in advance for any GBP transfers into another currency.

Last week’s inflation report addressed the rising levels of inflation which have made it increasingly likely that the Bank of England will make an interest rate rise sooner than was thought six months ago. Interest rate rises nearly always boost a currency as we have just seen with the Australian Dollar which reached parity with the American Dollar for the first time in years following a decision to raise interest rates in Australia. The downside of increasing inflation is that it raises questions over the ability of the Bank of England policy members to keep inflation below the 2 percent target as this has not been achieved. From a currency point of view however, markets tend to invest in currencies where the inflation pattern is showing a growing economy and higher interest rates, so it looks as though Sterling could strengthen on the back of this area.

This Wednesday is shaping up to be the crucial day for the Pound with yet more insight into the Bank of England’s decision making when the policy minutes of the last meeting two weeks ago will be released at 10am. These have shown the ability to significantly move the markets over the last few months so it’s a good idea to speak to your broker and make sure you are watching what happens with the rates. If these further reinforce the fact that an interest rate rise is becoming increasingly likely they may push another rally – on the other hand if they significantly downplay the brighter GDP figures and other news they could bring along more uncertainty.

The Euro has had its fair share of good news over the past week but due to the debt problems of the weaker nations, particularly Ireland, making headlines, the single currency has failed to respond. Positively increasing GDP figures from Europe, Germany and France at the tail end of last week for example have not given the Euro the boost they might have if sovereign debt was not haunting the Euro. An EU finance meeting begins today in which Ireland’s debt problem will be discussed. Although Ireland are adamant they do not need help from Europe to manage their debt, it is believed that the EU may force help to ensure the situation does not spiral and begin to affect other EU nations. Should it be announced that the EU are going provide rescue funds to Ireland at any time over the coming weeks, some weakening of the Euro might be expected.

Now that the quantitative easing decision is done and dusted as far as markets are concerned, the US Dollar has had room to appreciate, particularly benefiting from Euro weakness. There have also been some surprisingly positive data releases such as retail sales and consumer sentiment. The Pound is still at some of the highest levels seen all year reaching above 1.60 against the US Dollar but there is a lot to play for this week with both the Bank of England minutes and US CPI inflation data on Wednesday.

For further advice or 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.

Another week and another swing in the rates.

Most significantly, the US Dollar fell against a basket of other currencies to its lowest levels since 2009 making this the best time to convert Pounds into Dollars this year. The was the result of the long awaited decision by the US Federal Reserve to try and re-stimulate the US economy by introducing more ‘quantitative easing’ measures – namely pumping another 600 billion Dollars into the economy. Anyone who needs a GBP / US Dollar transfer even if it is some way in the future would be well advised to speak with a currency broker about how they could lock into this great rate now. There have been a few signs that the US Dollar could begin to claim back some of its losses following stronger than expected data on unemployment on Friday so it is a good time to make a decision on how to handle your transfer. The US trade balance will be revealed on Wednesday and may have an impact.

The Euro has been steadily strengthening and dodging the spotlight recently with all the fuss over quantitative easing and the US claiming centre stage but this week has kicked off with something of a shift and the Euro beginning to weaken. Greek and Irish debt problems are firmly back on the agenda with a visit to Ireland today from the EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner to look over their budget plans. With no significant US data until Wednesday, the Euro may bare the brunt of currency movements in the early part of the week. There are some positive data releases to look out for, such as Germany’s widening trade surplus this morning, however this is serving to highlight the contrast between Germany and the other failing European economies.

Sterling has continued to strengthen against both the Euro and the US Dollar over the past week. Stronger than expected producer price data on Friday surprised analysts and showed the fastest rate of growth in the past six months. Also this is a positive reflection of the UK economic recovery it also presents a problem in terms of how well the Bank of England, the nation’s economic policy makers, are judged as they have been downplaying speculation over rising inflation. The inflation report will be joined on Wednesday by the Bank of England Governor’s speech Tuesday morning sees a clutter of UK data releases on industrial production, manufacturing production and the total trades and good balance so a disappointing or positive result could have an impact (both construction and services data last week instantly caused a movement in Sterling).

The end of the week will see nations attending the G 20 meeting on Thursday and Friday. Friday will also be an important day for the Euro with both European and German GDP figures for the third quarter due.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

Hi there,

I’d like to open this week’s blog by offering you the chance to win a case of wine by completing a short survey we are conducting into overseas property. You can complete the survey HERE and we’ll be sure to share the results with you.

Last week was one in which there was a turn-around in the status quo of Sterling exchange rate movements and this week is shaping up to have just as much potential for movement.

After weeks of suffering, the Pound began to reverse its losses against the Euro when Tuesday’s GDP figures for the third quarter arrived with a surprise increase. They showed a quarterly increase of 0.8 percent far outweighing the prediction of 0.4 percent. The result was an instant swing in Sterling with the currency recovering from the 1.12s against the Euro to now sit around the level of 1.152 to start the week. That’s already a difference of circa £3000 on any £100,000 Pound transfer to Euros.

The good news for those needing to transfer Pounds into another currency is that this positive GDP news has also made it much less likely that the Bank of England will announce any quantitative easing measures after their meeting on Thursday and so has helped to avert the threat. The European Central Bank interest rate decision comes on the same day but is expected to only result in a holding of interest rates at 1 percent and is therefore unlikely to generate much movement.

The US Federal Reserve on the other hand are due to make their decision regarding interest rates and quantitative easing on Wednesday and speculation over this is much more rife following weaker US GDP figures on Friday. The US markets have undergone negative economic news release after negative news release which has stifled the recovery and pulled the Dollar down sending the Euro higher. There is a reasonable chance that to deal with this the US will announce on Wednesday that they are reverting to quantitative easing measures to help re-stimulate the economy. This decision would be significant as the threat of quantitative easing has been dominating the state of play in the currency markets for some time. Not only would the US Dollar in all likelihood be dragged down further and the Euro strengthen, but the Pound may begin to react more directly to economic news from the UK itself, rather than simply being caught in the cross-fire of the ‘will they, won’t they’ quantitative easing situation in the US.

Poor mortgage and retail sales in September, falling house prices, fiscal tightening coupled with shattered business and consumer confidence in the light of job and spending cuts to come may therefore continue to threaten the Pound in the months ahead.

There are some economists also suggesting that a Dollar rally could be bought about if the decision on Wednesday is less aggressive than expected.

There is certainly a lot of volatility - to find out how to protect yourself from this volatility speak to your currency broker today.

For further advice or 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) 20 7740 0000 or by clicking HERE to leave an enquiry.

The horizon is still looking pretty sparse in terms of any potential news that could bring some respite to the Pound.

Last week saw the double blow of the Bank of England minutes and details of budget cuts which coincided on Wednesday to push the Pound down to the lower 1.12s against the Euro by Thursday. The Bank of England minutes revealed a split in voting on both interest rates and quantitative easing measures – this has clearly knocked down further the confidence of market investors regarding the UK recovery. The increased likelihood of quantitative easing is the one dominant factor pulling down the Pound. What scraps of positive economic news there are coming out in the UK are failing to really lift the currency – this is also because Sterling is sat in the crossfire of movement between the Euro and Dollar.

It is also the threat of quantitative easing in the US that is maintaining the state of play in the Dollar, Euro and Pound relationship. Typically speaking, the Euro strengthens in times of Dollar weakness and the Dollar has remained weak now for several months as the economy continues to falter and additional stimulus becomes ever more likely. Therefore the Pound is still relatively strong against the Dollar but continuing to struggle against the Euro.

The housing market is always seen as a key indicator of UK economic health and recent news has not been good. Last week the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that lending in September was at its lowest level since September 2000 and the Bank of England minutes confirmed dwindling demand for homes and loans.

And what of the story of the moment, the world ‘currency war’ ready to erupt? A G 20 meeting has resulted in the agreement of global finance ministers to not intervene to create a competitive devaluation of their own currencies (in order to protect their exports). This however, was the agreement already in place with some nations breaking this rule so whether this will be honoured remains to be seen.

Are there any predictions in terms of exchange rate movements this week? One of the most significant events is the UK third quarter GDP figures on Tuesday. Predictions are for quarter on quarter growth of 0.4 percent – this is very significant data so whether or not this is achieved may have an impact and cause market movement. 

For further advice or 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.

‘Currency War’ has been a phrase increasingly bandied about by the news and press over the past week with severe fluctuations in foreign exchange rates making headlines. In truth, the nations tied up in accusations of artificially weakening their currencies (to ensure the competitiveness of their exports and therefore their respective recoveries) tend to be those nations with currencies mainly used as currency investments such as Japan and Brazil. An interesting fact if you didn’t already know it is that ninety-seven percent of foreign exchange in the world every single day is made by currency speculators …Currency Solutions deal with private clients and companies from the other three percent that actually need the currency to purchase or sell a property or import goods. Namely, those that are affected in the costs of their purchases by all the movements in the rates that the speculators are causing.

So – even though the ‘currency war’ is occurring in some highly speculated currencies, this ongoing situation does affect the average Property Secrets client who might be requiring Euros or US Dollars to purchase a property as the overall movements in the currency markets cannot be avoided.

The state of play for some time now has been a weak Pound, an even weaker US Dollar and an almighty strong Euro. The situation still remains the same although we have seen some slowing down in terms of the Euro’s advance on the Pound. Generally speaking, the Pound is still at around the 1.140 level against the Euro and the 1.590 level against the US Dollar (at the time of writing on Monday this week). This is still around a four month low for the Pound against the Euro so not a good rate for those UK based clients needing to buy property in Europe – it is very important therefore to speak to a broker and make sure you are protecting yourself from the current volatility as well as you can do. If you happen to be selling a property in Europe and bringing Pounds back into Euros then this is a very good time in terms of exchange rates.

Are there any predictions in terms of exchange rate movements this week? There are certainly events that may move the markets – particularly in the UK arena. The Bank of England minutes from the last monetary policy meeting are due on Wednesday this week. As this is expected to show a split over the vote on interest rates and quantitative easing that took place at the meeting two weeks ago, the minutes have the potential to weaken Sterling or at the very least make it more vulnerable. (Last month’s minutes incited instant market movement at the time the minutes were released). The date of the minutes happens to coincide with the date that George Osborne is due to speak about the full details of budget cuts. Whether or not cuts will in fact hamper the economic recovery has become an increasing point of debate, but what is certain is that the UK economy will be very much in the spotlight for the second half of this week.

Bearing this in mind, whatever your transfer, find out how to minimise your losses or maximise your profit.

For further advice or 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.

Despite the wealth of economic news releases, central bank interest rate meetings and global G7 and International Monetary Fund meetings over the past week, the state of play in the currency markets between the Pound, US Dollar and Euro at least has not dramatically shifted. Generally speaking, we are still seeing a very strong Euro which in the space of the last few weeks has maintained eight month highs on the US Dollar and six month highs on the Pound.

This is having a significant effect on businesses as well as private individuals purchasing and selling properties overseas. A UK based individual requiring a transfer into Euros to buy a property for example, is finding that the cost in Pounds will have increased by a few thousand pounds depending on the cost of the property over just the space of a few weeks. This is a great time to book any transfers which require bringing Euros back into Sterling but if you will need to transfer Pounds into Euros then it is highly advisable to speak with a currency broker. With so much uncertainty in the currency markets at present, a Currency Solutions broker can either help you protect yourself from further losses by fixing an exchange rate in advance of your transfer, or alternatively alert you to when a target rate of exchange is hit allowing you to take advantage of any small spikes in your favour.

At present, the Euro is remaining buoyant mainly because both the UK and the US currencies are being avoided by investors as the chances of economic ‘stimulus’ measures being required by Governments to help give their respective economies an artificial boost has heightened. There have been more than just murmurings from those connected to the US Federal Reserve that stimulus is becoming an increasing possibility. The UK economy is also being haunted by the same issue – this is despite the fact that the Bank of England meeting last week did not result in the decision to take any more stimulus measures. The problem is that in the UK, minutes from the Bank of England which come out two weeks after the actual meeting can have just as much, if not more, effect than the meeting itself. Markets are widely expecting the minutes to show a three way split on the vote over monetary policy which will not bode well for Sterling. With details of budget cuts also coming out on the 20th October the Pound is looking set for general volatility this month.

On top of this both the UK and US are suffering from a constant drip feed of disappointing economic news. The US payroll report on Friday was disappointing and last week saw an absolute plummet of house prices in the UK. The Halifax housing report said that UK prices dropped by 3.6 percent in September and weak business confidence has kicked off the week for UK markets today.

The only saving grace for the Pound is that the US Dollar is performing even more weakly meaning that although it’s a weak time for GBP / Euro transfers, the rate for GBP / US Dollar is relatively good.

Whatever your transfer, find out how to minimise your losses or maximise your profit by speaking to a broker and obtaining a much more preferential rate to the bank.

For further advice or 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.

As we move into the third quarter of the year, the currency markets are under stress, as various worldwide economies have had to scale down their forecasts for growth and for some a double dip recession is still thought possible. The movements of the last few weeks have bought about a steep drop in Sterling against the Euro with the currency falling from above 1.21 against the Euro to the four month lows of the 1.15s. The Dollar is yet weaker, with the US currency therefore losing out to both the Euro and the Pound. Uncertainty still hangs over the currency markets, with other ‘safe-haven-currency’ nations such as Japan and Switzerland contemplating taking action to intervene in the currency markets and weaken their own currencies in order to protect their exports and therefore their recoveries.

To start with the Pound, the latest economic data has not been all bad. Today for example, saw a surprise improvement in the construction sector. The problem for Sterling at the moment is that many of the data releases have been generally disappointing, as well as the fact that any positive news tends to be over-shadowed by what is going on in terms of larger economic policy with increased differences of opinion between the Bank of England members. Following very poor public finance figures several weeks ago, showing higher than expected levels of debt, all eyes are now on the details of budget cuts to be announced later this month. At the same time, the latest Bank of England minutes showed that ‘increased stimulus’ for the UK economy was now thought of as increasingly likely. This has been followed up by the comments of Andrew Posen, policy member, who has called for further stimulus against the calls of Andrew Sentence, another Bank of England member, for an interest rate rise, suggesting that there may well be a three way split at the next meeting.

The situation in the US makes for even worse reading with the US Dollar receding against most other major currencies and finding its way to a six month low against the Euro. The US Dollar Index, which measures the Dollar against a basket of currencies is heading back down to levels last seen in January. Speculation over further financial stimulus is even more rife in the US than the UK, with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York President being the latest to speak out about the need for stimulus measures to calm the ongoing unemployment levels and inflation problems. Last week ended with poor manufacturing figures adding to the negative sentiments surrounding the economy. Later on Monday is a speech by the Federal Governor Bernanke which will be keenly watched by investors to see if any chances of further stimulus are mentioned.

And how long can the Euro maintain this level of strength? In truth, the Euro seems to be benefiting largely from the relative weaknesses in other economies rather than growing from its own internal strength. There have of course been some positive factors at play. A string of successful bond auctions as well as comments from China over the weekend that they would buy Greek bonds once Greece returns to the bond markets is good for investor confidence – the latest investor confidence figures also showed an improvement. There is a deep vulnerability in the Euro however which is stemming from the mounting fears surrounding debt, with the new headlines last week regarding the vast costs incurred by Ireland necessary to bailout the Anglo Irish bank. This, alongside the ongoing worries surrounding other nations such as Spain who had their credit rating downgraded by Moody’s last week, makes the Euro far from safe, even if for now it is largely dominating.

With rates being as they are, this is an ideal time to arrange or fix the rate in advance for any transfers involving selling Euros into Pounds or Dollars. If you do have an upcoming transaction that will involve you exchanging another currency into Euros, then we can also help you protect yourself from any further drops and minimise your losses.

For further advice or 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.

Markets have opened this week with the Euro still holding out in a strong position against other major currencies, with the Pound trading around the level of 1.176 against the Euro on Monday. Conversely, the Pound, in a weak state itself, has actually hit a six week high against the even weaker US Dollar. This general picture may have the potential to change shape over the week with news from Ireland having the potential to knock the Euro and a wealth of UK and US economic data due.

To start with Sterling, news on the UK economy has not inspired much confidence in investors. Although a new report has suggested that the UK banking sector is growing at its fastest rate since before the financial crisis, the long term potential is unclear as new regulations may hinder growth. The housing market remains the vulnerable sector at the heart of the economy, with a new Rightmove survey suggesting that UK home prices dropped the most in eighteen months in September. Tomorrow sees revised second quarter GDP figures which will be scrutinised for the latest insight into the economy as a whole and may bring market movement should the reading either disappoint or exceed expectations. If you have a transfer involving Sterling it is best to speak with a broker today to gain advice.

The Euro has stayed strong following better than expected German business sentiment and more data is due from Germany tomorrow which may help support the Euro should it follow trend. There are some question marks over how long the Euro’s strength will last however as there are several issues the currency would have to weather this week. One of the largest threats to Euro strength is the gathering concern over the situation of Ireland. Speculation has heightened that the nation may need European rescue funds and this week the Government is due to announce the total cost of bailing out Anglo Irish Bank Corp. Whilst the state has pledged 22 billion Euros, one rating agency, Standard and Poor’s, has predicted that the final bill may actually total 35 billion Euros which is 20 percent of GDP.  Some economists believe that the Euro is experiencing only temporary strength although the currency has remained hardy last week and into the start of this week. If you have Euros to transfer into another currency, it may be worth strongly thinking about booking either the actual transfer or the rate in advance now whilst the Euro is strong.

What will happen with the US Dollar this week is perhaps more predictable, with no obvious respite on the horizon for the weak currency. Investors are becoming increasingly fearful that the Federal Reserve will be forced to increase stimulus measures to save the slowing economy. Uninspiring durable goods orders and housing market data at the end of last week did little to help. News from the US itself therefore remains downbeat and the only factor likely to cause a pick-up in the US Dollar is if broader currency movements should swing - for example if the Euro topples and investors seek the Dollar as a risk-aversion strategy.

For further advice or 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.

Sterling is starting the week out on the wrong foot, sitting around 1.19 against the Euro and 1.55 against the US Dollar. Despite rising against the US Dollar last week for the first time in six weeks, news over the weekend had already arrived to dampen UK markets before the week had even begun. Dropping house prices made some of the Monday morning front pages thanks to the Rightmove data over the weekend. This was doubled up by figures from the Bank of England this morning showing a fall in mortgage approvals. This weakness in the UK housing markets is for many the rot at the centre of the slowing UK economy. The fragility in the economy is only likely to come even further under scrutiny with public finance data tomorrow and then the Bank of England minutes from the last rate meeting on Friday. Inflation is still well above target and there is mounting concern over the cuts that Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will be detailing on 20th October. It may therefore be a volatile week for the Pound with a lot of new information in the first half of the week.

The Euro is bearing up fairly well given the week opens following speculation over the state of Ireland’s finances last week and whether they may require help from the International Monetary Fund. Barclays Capital issued a report which suggested Ireland may require external assistance due to large losses in the financial sector. However both Ireland and the International Monetary Fund have sought to calm nerves saying that this is not foreseeable. Stress tests on Greek banks have been delayed until the end of October to allow the country’s capital raising programme to be assessed. The weekly calendar for news from the Eurozone begins with consumer confidence and industrial orders on Wednesday reflecting conditions in the European manufacturing sector. Should investors become risk averse this week on any more signs of heavy global slow down, the Euro may become vulnerable.

The US Dollar remains at around a five week low against the Euro. Consumer sentiment towards the economy fell to its lowest level on Friday continuing the flow of negative news on the situation in the US. Tomorrow’s Federal Reserve meeting is expected to result in the ongoing hold of low interest rates although there is uncertainty over whether any further easing or stimulus measures will be taken to shore up the economy. There are further US Dollar releases on everything including housing data and unemployment rates spread throughout the week which may bring movement to all major currencies as US data tends to influence investor opinion the global economy as a whole.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.com

For further advice or 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.

Speculative investors moving large sums of money are those who influence how currency markets are behaving and this week they are starting out in a positive and risk taking mood. In currency terms, this means that currencies seen on the risky side, such as the Euro, are strengthening at the expense of the safe-haven currencies including the US Dollar, Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc.

Why has this happened? A spate of positive data has shored up investor confidence that the global economy may in fact be recovering rather than heading for the much feared double dip recession. US joblessness figures from last week were better than expected and Japan’s GDP figures were also very positive. The most important economic data however has come from China – this is because after second quarter moderation, the economy seems to be speeding up so investors are gaining faith that other economies around the world may also be able to follow this pattern. Chinese imports swelled, industrial production grew 13.9 percent from a year earlier and consumer prices jumped the most in twenty two months.

Another reason that the Euro is strengthening is due to some relief spreading regarding the European banking situation. New regulations have come in from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision – these regulations are giving banks the ample time of eight years to raise the additional funds required to comply with the new requirements introduced to prevent another financial crisis.

And where is the Pound in all of this? A little muddled is the honest answer with data being mixed and investors not sure how to react. The general sentiment surrounding Sterling is that the UK economy is significantly cooling which is putting downwards pressure on the Pound. This was made much worse last week by the UK trade deficit reaching its highest point in five years. Despite last week’s decision by the Bank of England to keep the interest rate at the record low of 0.5 percent not being a surprise, this will do nothing to help give the Pound a boost.

If you are transferring Pounds into another currency, speak with a broker about how to protect yourself from the current Sterling weakness and volatility.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.com

For further advice or how to save thousands on your property purchase compared to the bank exchange rates, 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.

Currency movements continue to be dominated by the talk and data surrounding how fast economies seem to be growing or slowing. Last week saw a frenzy over speculation of a double dip recession with increasing signs of slowing economies particularly in the US and UK. This caused a boost in safe haven currencies but the new week is starting out on a different foot with the Yen, Swiss Franc and US Dollar sliding down from their highs.

The key piece of information which has caused a turn in the rates between this week and last was US jobless figures on Friday. These were much better than expected with employment falling by 54,000 – much lower than the anticipated 100,000. This seems to have given some confidence back to investors that a double dip may be avoidable with riskier currencies such as the Euro starting to strengthen.

The Euro however was a little tarnished this morning with a surprise drop in investor confidence in the Euro-zone. It is expected however that the Euro will experience some strong data for three consecutive days beginning tomorrow and all coming from Germany in areas such as industrial production. If you have an upcoming transfer involving the Euro, it is advisable to speak with a broker about the effect that this week’s economic events may have on your transfer and which trading option will be best. It’s possible to book your transfer well in advance to take advantage of any preferential rates.

The Pound is starting the week in bad form. Despite some very strong news on the UK export market this morning, Sterling doesn’t seem to be able to shake off the hangover from last week’s poor data releases. However it is only Monday and there are significant UK data releases every single working day this week and the Bank of England rate decision on Wednesday. If you are transferring Pounds into another currency, speak with a broker about how to protect yourself from the current Sterling weakness and volatility.

For further advice or how to save thousands on your property purchase compared to the bank exchange rates, 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.

Similarly to last week, currency movements in all major currencies this week are likely to be dominated by economic news coming out of the USA.

There is a continuing trend of poor US data bringing down currencies seen as risky – particularly the Euro, and pushing up currencies seen as ‘safe’ including the Japanese Yen and US Dollar itself; news from the US is continuing to be seen as a key indicator of the global situation in general which means that negative data from the nation is ironically not bringing down the Dollar.

US data this week will therefore be important with a large amount of news releases from consumer confidence on Tuesday, mortgage applications on Wednesday, jobless claims on Thursday and earnings data on Friday. For those purchasing property in the US, a strengthening Dollar means it may be best to fix an exchange rate in advance, whereas for those purchasing property in the Euro-zone the currency may continue to weaken. It is possible to speak with a currency broker and set a realistic target rate of exchange so that you can be informed when this is achieved.

Although negative US Dollar news is draining the Euro, there may be some glimmer of positive news from Europe itself. Lower jobless rates and positive manufacturing data from Germany may help to give the Euro some strength although whether this will be enough to sway risk-averse investors at present remains to be seen. Another ‘safe’ currency, the Swiss Franc, is also at significant highs against the Euro – for anyone buying investments in Europe the currency is at the desired weak level.

The Pound is experiencing volatility as the hype around the slowing UK recovery grows. Sterling has begun the week by dropping against the US Dollar and Euro following a report by the National Federation of Housing which suggests that UK home owners will experience another four years of negative equity. Manufacturing and construction data on Wednesday and Thursday may bring more movement.

For further advice or 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.

This week is beginning with a lot of uncertainty in the currency markets with a weak Euro, strong Pound and volatile US Dollar… which could all change by the end of the week.

An already weak Euro has experienced some negative data this morning regarding the manufacturing sector in the single-currency zone. This follows its fall to a one month low against the US Dollar and a seven week low against the Pound as the French President has been preparing the nation for the most severe round of budget cuts in two decades. The weak Euro is of course to great advantage for those buying property in Europe. For UK based buyers for example, the GBP / EURO mid-market rate is up around the 1.22 level. With things starting to suggest that Sterling may deteriorate over the rest of the year, it’s possible to forward-fix this rate now for your property purchase even if the transfer doesn’t need to take place straight away to protect yourself from any potential drop.

How long will the Pound stay strong for? Last week’s surprisingly positive UK retail figures gave Sterling a strong upwards push, helped along by the view coming from economists that there will be many upcoming foreign bids for UK companies. This is not expected to hold up the Pound long term however. With UK growth forecasts being revised downwards and household survey results today revealing the depth of concern over living costs and unemployment among the population, some are starting to suggest that the Pound will begin to suffer and end the year much lower against the Euro and Dollar than its current rate.

Currency movements are really being influenced at the moment by worldwide investor’s attitudes to various economies as the global recovery is seen to be stalling. After last week’s atrocious US unemployment figures and speculation over a double dip recession, investors have become risk averse. This has caused the ‘safe’ currencies of the Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen to strengthen whilst the hung result of the Australian election has caused the Australian Dollar to fall.

Events which are likely to bring more currency movements this week are US home sales and joblessness figures (which have recently been ever more disappointing) on Wednesday and Thursday then culminating in US and UK GDP figures on Friday. Its worth considering that a poor US Dollar typically causes the Euro to strengthen – apart from when the number one priority for investors is to avoid risk.

For further advice or 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.

Currency movements over the week ahead are likely to be influenced by the full calendar of meetings and subsequent reports planned across the globe. The Federal Reserve and Bank of England will be each chewing their pens over how to portray the current view on their respective economies.

Particularly significant will be the meeting of the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. The US Dollar is refusing to step out of the spotlight and is largely determining movements in other currencies as it continues to drop. Last week saw the Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the Dollar against a basket of other currencies, suffer losses for the ninth week in a row – the longest succession of losses since 2004. This is due to mounting signs that the US economy is slowing. It was revealed at the end of last week that 131, 000 jobs were lost in July. Economists predicted that the private sector would have added 100, 000 jobs throughout the month but the actual total was revealed as a much lower 70,000. The more the words ‘double-dip recession’ are muttered, the more the Dollar is likely to weaken in response to something that hasn’t actually happened– in a ‘chicken and egg’ case, investors will speculate on the likelihood of such a double-dip crisis and take their positions accordingly. It is becoming increasingly likely that the Federal Reserve will have to act ‘not if but when’ to deal with the slowing economy. Markets will be keenly watching tomorrow’s Federal Reserve meeting to see if a decision will be taken to make more bond purchases in order to re-stimulate the economy. 

The report to watch on the Pound Sterling front will be Wednesday’s quarterly inflation report which will outline the Bank of England’s outlook for both inflation and interest rates over the next three months. Interest rates continue to be a contested topic with committee member Andrew Sentence doing his best to suggest that the time is ripe for a rise to curb inflation, whilst Governor Mervyn King does equally do his best to suggest that a rise would be far too hasty. Any suggestion of an interest rate rise is likely to make the Pound stronger – great for anyone UK based purchasing overseas property and requiring a transfer into another currency.

The Euro hit three month highs against the US Dollar last week. Movements against the Pound tend to be quite volatile as data out of both the UK and European economies is predominantly positive but still slightly mixed. A measure of investor confidence in the Euro-zone by Sentix has suggested that optimism towards the area is growing. Germany in particular has given the Euro a helping hand with export and current account data coming in well above expectations today. Certainly, the negative focus on the Dollar is drawing attention away from Europe and for now the Euro seems steady.

Speak to me, the dedicated Property Secrets broker, Nigel Hodges from Currency Solutions, about how to manage any upcoming currency transfers and get the very best rates on 0207 740 0000.

www.currencysolutions.co.uk

Since our blog last Monday, the doom and gloom surrounding the US economy has intensified.

If you are planning on purchasing an overseas property in US Dollars therefore now is the time to be watching the exchange rate – Sterling has reached 1.58 against the US Dollar over the past week for the first time, hitting the highest levels seen for five months.

The spotlight therefore is on the weakening US Dollar this week as murmurs of the threat of a double dip recession once again start to circulate –  in fact ‘murmers’ is perhaps a little too kind as the views are coming from several up high. The former chairman of the federal reserve, Alan Greenspan, for example, has thrown his hat in to the ring by mentioning the ‘double dip recession’ phrase. The latest GDP figures which were released on Friday are the main cause of all this bother. The figures cast light over how the economic recovery in the US slowed down from 3.7 percent in the first quarter to 2.4 percent in the second quarter. There are as many data releases on the US economy as ever this week which may cause more movement – this starts with PMI and construction figures today.

The Euro-region has been providing a mixed bag of data. Although the Euro has predominantly benefited from the weakness in the US Dollar, investors are continuing to get mixed messages from the region itself which is showing itself in the volatility being seen in the single currency. Last week saw positive news such as a drop in German unemployment for the thirteenth month in a row and surprisingly healthy profits recorded by several large European firms such as Louis Vouitton SA. However, this has been counter-balanced by other news – the hedge fund FX Concepts LLC for example have begun to advise selling the single currency on expectation of a drop in growth as austerity measures take effect. The Euro is still therefore undergoing many fluctuations. For any transfers involving the Euro, its best to speak with a broker at Currency Solutions for advice on protecting yourself from this volatility.

The Pound is fighting-fit and throughout the course of last week managed to fend off any negative news and maintain it’s upwards momentum. At the Bank of England meeting with the Treasury Select Committee last week Mervyn King the Bank of England Governer warned that nothing should be taken for granted in terms of how well the statistics suggest the UK is recovering, The Pound was virtually unscathed by King’s comments however and markets have opened this week reveling in the positive news from HSBC that their profits for the first six months of this year were more than double than in the same period in 2009. If you are UK-based and buying any foreign investments this is therefore good news – if your transfer is not immediate but you want to consider fixing a rate for a future transaction to take advantage of the current Sterling strength then speak to me, the dedicated Property Secrets broker, Nigel Hodges, from Currency Solutions about forward-contracts.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.co.uk

This week was meant to be all about the Euro… and potentially promised something of a boost. The first ever stress tests were completed on European banks and the results announced late on Friday. Market reaction to the stress test results however has not affected the Euro in a significant way so far. Whilst European Governments were hoping that the tests would shore up confidence in the Euro region most currency investors have decided that the tests themselves were flawed and not rigorous enough as only seven of the ninety-one banks tested failed the tests. So if you are either buying or selling any property in Europe over the coming months the message is that the Euro has not gained as much as anticipated and so far the movements are quite volatile so the Pound rate against the Euro is still doing well – the best move is to speak with a currency broker to get the best rates and decide whether to fix a rate in advance depending on the transfer you need.

It’s not all bad news for the Euro however as economic news in the US seems to be forging a never ending stream of gloomy news that’s hard to compete with. At the end of the second quarter the mood is still very much that the pace of the US recovery has significantly slowed causing economists to begin looking at whether a double dip recession is possible – and the Dollar is suffering because of this. Reports this week out in the US are expected to confirm that consumer spending has slowed and the trade deficit has swelled – GDP figures for the US due to be released on Friday are also likely to impact on the currency. The good news is that if you are based in the UK and investing in American property, this is a great time to take advantage of a weakening Dollar and a strengthening Pound.

The Pound is in fact sitting pretty in between the current cross-fire of movement between the Euro and the US Dollar. As both economies are currently subject to scrutiny and investors are showing themselves to be wary of either currency, the Pound is soaking up some of the surplus. This has been further helped along by a pleasant surprise in the UK in terms of the most recent economic news. Most of all, GDP figures released on Friday absolutely soared through economists’ predictions of 0.6 percent coming at 1.1 percent showing strong signs that the UK recovery is gathering pace. If you are UK based and purchasing a property overseas therefore this is a great time to make the transfer. If on the other hand you are selling an overseas property and bringing the money back into Sterling it may be a case of working out how to minimise your losses before things get any worse.

Feel free to speak with me, Nigel Hodges, the dedicated Currency Solutions broker for Property Secrets clients about whether to forward-book a rate in advance, sign up for a rate alert or set up a regular standing order for your mortgage payments – all at guaranteed bank beating exchange rates.

Get in touch with Nigel Hodges on 0207 740 0000 or alternatively click HERE to request a quote on your transfer.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.co.uk

The past week has seen some considerable shifts in the state of play with the currency markets.

The Pound has done a U-turn in its movements against several major currencies throughout the past week following its recent climbs against the Euro and US Dollar. Some negative news has emerged on the housing market by Rightmove which reveals that asking prices dropped in July for the first time since December. This has brought an abrupt halt to what seemed to be a recovering housing market and is likely to be due to budget cuts and tighter lending rules making consumers more nervous about buying property. In fact, the austerity measures and budget cutting of the emergency budget that at first gave the Pound a strong boost are beginning to be more widely debated. After the Chancellor’s meeting with EU officials last week, several economists have said that budget cutting alone is not enough to bring on the UK recovery and is starting to hinder growth. This sentiment seems to be weighing on the Pound which has started to drop against most major currencies – there was a great article in today’s Guardian covering the debate over cuts.

Last week gave some respite for the Euro after its recent heavy losses. The Euro clawed back ground on most major currencies as it benefited from a wave of negative news on the US economy throughout the week – often when investors take their money out of the Dollar they tend to put it into the Euro instead causing the rates to swing and this certainly seemed to be the case last week. Europe also benefited from successful bond sales in several nations.

Events over the weekend and so far on Monday however have already put these Euro gains into jeopardy. Ireland’s rating has been downgraded by the ratings agency Moody’s as they believe the nation is losing economic strength. Europe is also undergoing problems with trade balances – the uncertainty over the strength or weakness of the Euro is affecting imports and exports. The most important thing to watch out for this week will be the stress tests on European banks with the results being announced on Friday. If you have any transfers involving Euros or any other European currency it may be wise to get in touch for advice with us earlier this week in case the stress tests bring more volatility to the rates.

Anyone involved with the Hungarian Forint should be aware that the EU pulled out of talks regarding a financial package to help Hungarian debt over the weekend. This means that the package was not confirmed and the Forint has significantly dropped against a basket of other currencies.

I’d like to thank everyone who filled out our survey with Property Secrets. Congratulations to Vic Warren who has won the prize draw of a tour of Wimbledon. It’s always good to know how we can improve the foreign exchange information and tools that we are providing you with. It also made me realise that I should remind you of some of the features that Currency Solutions offer that you might find useful:

Forward booking: You can fix an exchange rate in advance of when you will need the transfer. This means that you will know your exact costs and we can help you fix the rate when it is the very best for you.

Market Orders: We can help you choose a pre-set exchange rate at which we can automatically buy your currency so you never miss a good rate.

Regular Transfers: Ideal for overseas mortgage, pension or salary transfers – you can fix a rate and set up a regular payment by standing order so that you don’t have to worry about booking a transfer each month.

Rate Alerts: Receive an automatic text or email when your target rate is hit – sign up HERE.

Get in touch with Nigel Hodges on 0207 740 0000 about how any of these features could help you or alternatively click HERE to request a quote.

Focus was placed on the interest rates decision by the Bank of England which took place last Thursday. However, the latest decision to keep rates on hold at 0.5% is less important than the minutes due out later this month, which could give a clear indication of where Interest Rates are headed. Last month MPC member Andrew Spence spoke openly about his concerns about the decision to freeze interest rates because of the lingering risk of inflation.  With levels still above the 3% upper limit he may have a valid point to make.  However, on Friday the UK producer prices input and output figures were released and unexpectedly fell for the first time in 1 ½ years.  These reports have helped ease inflationary pressure and the new fiscal measurements will hopefully curb the threat of further inflation.

With US markets kicking off late last week due to the Independence Day Bank holiday it took some time for them to get themselves started again.  A lacklustre first half of the week certainly displayed signs of a slowing economic recovery in the US, most notably with the release of ISM non-manufacturing data for June which came in 1.2 less than expected at a staggering 53.8.  This drop of 1.6 on May’s figures did not help ease the growing concerns that were arising over a possible double-dip recession.  The US Dollar suffered early on in the week on the back of the holiday and these worrying figures.  However, later in the week a slight recovery took place when jobless claims fell on the previous month, and strong store sales, benefiting mainly from the good weather and the recent Memorial Day holiday, put in a strong performance to help boost the currency slightly.

A busy week in the Eurozone saw much of the focus put firmly on the banks participating in upcoming ‘stress tests’. These are tests designed to see how banks would cope with another economic downturn. Whilst the majority of the general public was awaiting the ECB’s decision on interest rates, many experts were choosing to focus on ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet’s post rates speech as a gage on what the outcome of the stress tests would be. Due to take place soon, the results of these tests will be published on the 23rd July.  Should the results prove to be as positive as expected, the Euro should expect to make further gains in the market.

Elsewhere in the world, Australia released strong data throughout the week. On the back of concerns over unemployment levels, figures showed that 45,900 new jobs were added in June which exceeded initial estimations of 15,000. Although the RBA released figures showing that commodity prices had dropped, those most important to the Australian economy were still performing well. Furthermore, this coupled with increases in consumer and business spending brought the highly commodity linked currency put in a strong position throughout the week.

This week see’s a huge amount of key data being released which could affect the currency markets.  Most notably, early on we have seen GDP figures in the UK remain at 0.3% and straight off the back of this news the local currency has retreated further against the Euro and US Dollar.  However, in a busy week there will undoubtedly be plenty of movement in the crazy, unpredictable world of currencies.

To discuss how to protect yourself from currency movements call Nigel Hodges on +44 (0)20 7740 0000.

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On the back of positive housing price data, the Pound continued its momentum last week.  Andrew Sentence, the Bank of England Policy Member insisted that interest rates should rise off the back of the budget to deal with inflation.  However, amongst all the hype of housing data, it came to light that house prices grew by a mere 0.1% despite initial forecasts of 0.5%. This coupled with investors seeking traditional ‘safe assets’ such as the US Dollar, Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen saw the Pound shaken up mid-week. 

As the global economy continued to slow, investors undoubtedly still feel that Sterling is a slightly risky investment and the housing data news did little to ease their concerns; and although late on in the week Sterling made slight gains against the US Dollar, Bank of England officials insisted that home buyers would find it increasingly difficult to obtain a mortgage as lenders anticipated a tightening in wholesale funding market conditions.

The week saw disappointing figures coming out of the US economy; this was headed by further unemployment rate increases.  As expected, jobless claims for US benefits increased by 13,000 over the course of the week and payroll data declined by an expected 130,000. As business activity continues to rise at a slower pace than expected, investors have started to pour money into alternative currencies as fears mount over the state of the US economy.

European debt came under the spotlight once again last week as banks in the continent came to the end of a loan period in which they were expected to repay 442 billion Euros to the ECB.  However, come Thursday Spain was put under pressure as it was on the cusp of selling back 3.5 billion Euros worth of debt.  The move turned out to be a good one as the successful auction coupled with the renewed loans came in at a lower total than expected which in turn helped renew confidence in the economic recovery.

The European bank also lent 111.2 billion Euros to a number of European banks for six days in an attempt to ease the expiry of the twelve month loan repayments. The seventy eight banks in question received the loan at benchmark interest rates of 1%.

The main focus for the coming week rests firmly on the Bank of England rate announcement on Thursday. The current rate stands at 0.5% and the most recent change occurred in March 2009 when there was a reduction of 0.5%. 

To discuss how to protect yourself from currency movements call Nigel Hodges on +44 (0)20 7740 0000.

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Sterling has begun the week soaring – the Pound has reached levels of 1.21 against the Euro and 1.50 against the Dollar.

Last week’s emergency budget was received very well by markets. The new Chancellor’s spending cutting measures and tax rises have been interpreted as an appropriate way for the UK to tackle its deficit which has shown itself in the Pound’s strong gains. The Sterling rate against both the Euro and the US Dollar are currently very strong as further positive news such as an increase in house prices has boosted the Pound’s upwards momentum.

Budget cutting was also the focus of the G 20 summit this weekend in Toronto. The world’s most advanced economies agreed that they would all aim to halve their deficits by 2013. Whilst Germany has been pushing for budget cutting in Eurozone nations, the US has previously been cautious about this approach instead preferring to maintain stimulus in the economy via spending and the pace of the budget cuts was the focus of the talks. The proposal for a worldwide levy on banks was dropped with the decision being that nations can individually decide whether to pursue this.

One of the most important G 20 matters for currency movements is China’s pledge to drop its policy of having Chinese currencies pegged to the US Dollar. This policy has previously meant that China’s currency will not appreciate so that its exports become too expensive but has negatively affected the exports of other nations in particular the US who have a large import-export deficit. The proposed change of policy by China should see the Yuan begin to gain value. It is also likely to help the US recovery if US exports increase which in the long term will help strengthen the US Dollar.

In the short term however the US Dollar has made losses over the last few weeks as a result of various signs that the US recovery has begun to slow down. House prices and levels of unemployment have come in lower than economists expected. Although the Dollar typically benefits from Euro weakness which still exists, investors have been choosing other safe haven currencies as opposed to the US Dollar such as the Japanese Yen. US Unemployment data that comes out on Friday this week will be important.

Other data this week which may affect currency movements are the UK GDP figures on Wednesday and European unemployment levels on Friday. To take advantage of the current strong Sterling rates, or discuss how to protect yourself from currency movements call Nigel Hodges on 0207 740 0000 or fill out your enquiry by clicking HERE.

Proposals for a worldwide levy on banks were dropped with individual nations having the freedom to decide their own policy on this matter.

China’s decision to let Chinese currencies begin to appreciate rather than being pegged to the US Dollar which has previously put Chinese exports at an advantage has been welcomed by the US.

The one key differentiator was that individual countries would have minimum deficit and It therefore looks like key data announcements will remain the key drivers for currency movements this week, with the main focus likely to be on this Friday’s US jobs report. ebt reduction goals, tailored to their individual circumstances.

Last week’s unexpected downward revision of US GDP to 2.7% has continued to unsettle investor’s nerves regarding the fragile recovery, and markets will be looking for this weeks data to give some indication that we are not heading into double-dip territory.

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Sterling continues to rise on the back of positive housing data overnight pushing above 1.5000 and its highest levels since May.

The group of 20 leading and emerging nations had been split over the pace of budget cuts. Emerging economies such as Argentina and Brazil had worried that budget cuts in rich countries would hurt their export-dependent economies.

It therefore looks like key data announcements will remain the key drivers for currency movements this week, with the main focus likely to be on this Friday’s US jobs report.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.com

This week sees the emergency budget fall upon us in the UK on Tuesday 22nd June. How will this affect the Pound? The emergency budget has been lurking on the horizon for some time now but as the crucial date has drawn nearer the new Government have began preparing the nation by drip feeding indications of what is to come. The Coalition began by accusing the previous Government of leaving finances in a much worse state than feared. Next, the newly created Office for Budget Responsibility last week slashed previous predictions on UK growth forecasts by half a point meaning the new Chancellor has an extra £12 billion to source, with £2.4 billion needing to be raised next year. Yesterday, the Chancellor spoke again ahead of the budget warning that UK citizens from all walks of life will have their part to play in tackling the crisis. This all adds up to paint a bleak picture of the tax rises and spending cuts that are about to be implemented.

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For the Pound therefore, there is likely to be some movement in reaction to the budget. Although long-term investors react well to decisive leadership and strong measures being taken to reduce deficits, historically budgets have tended to weaken the Pound in the short term. In this particular case, the budget will be revealing the UK’s debt woes - warts and all - thereby drawing attention to the problems that the budget is designed to help remedy. As market volatility is expected, if you have any transfers to make involving Sterling, it is advisable to speak with us today prior to the budget.

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Also set to affect a range of currencies this week is an expected overhaul of China’s currency policy which came to light last night. This has caused the US Dollar to fall to a four week low against the Euro, as well as the Yuan to advance the most in twenty months against the US Dollar. China has kept the Yuan pegged to the US Dollar since the onset of the economic crisis in July 2008. This has been much debated and unpopular with other nations as it works to protect Chinese exporters and makes its harder for other nations to compete with the cheap Chinese export market and reduce their trade deficits. Apart from the mentioned movements in the Yuan and the US Dollar, commodity currencies such as the New Zealand and Australian Dollars have strengthened in response to the announcement.

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In European matters, the Euro has been having a volatility time. Greece’s credit rating was downgraded last week to Ba1, a non-investment grade by Moody’s Investors. This is due to their perception of ‘substantial’ risks to the nation’s economic growth. For the Euro-zone however, this was balanced out when the Euro received a boost with more positive news later in the week as Spain manage to sell 3.5 billion Euros worth of bonds raising confidence that nations can raise finances to tackle their debt. With the Pound and Dollar likely to be experiencing movement, the Euro is also looking to have an equally volatile time.

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To discuss how to get the best rates or protect yourself from volatility speak to Nigel Hodges on 0207 740 0000 or fill out your enquiry by clicking HERE.

Hi,

This is my first mini blog to offer a short update on the last month and what’s happening in the currency markets.  There have been two main issues on our minds at Currency Solutions recently – how the Euro crash is affecting the markets and how we are going to be able to watch the World Cup day time games. In fact, football is making its way into economic news more than you might imagine. Thanks to the approaching World Cup, retail sales (flat-screen TVs, clothes and alcohol) have surged giving a boost of confidence to the UK recovery. And who said football was just a game?

The amazing currency volatility of the last month has at times been as unpredictable as an England penalty shoot out. It has certainly given us the busiest month that we can remember as clients took advantage of getting 1.20 Euros for every Pound for the first time since 2008.

For Property Secrets clients, the Euro slide and similar weakness in Eastern European currencies is important. My own personal advice on this situation is that it is crucial to remember that the markets are re-adjusting their predictions day by day. Although clients should be aware that the Euro may continue to weaken, the Pound itself is not on safe shores yet. Our new PM outlined yesterday that some severe budget cuts are required to prevent the British debt growing from its current position of £700 billion to £1.4 trillion by 2015. The other major player, the US Dollar, is continuing to strengthen as a safe haven currency for investors who are taking money out of the Euro.

With all this movement, it’s a good idea to monitor the situation. If you are going to be selling Pounds and purchasing Euros, Polish Zloty, Czech Korunas or any other volatile currencies there are several options available to maximise profit and minimise risk. For example, you could fix the rate now for future use or purchase part of your total amount at the current optimum rates and then wait to see if the rates get even better.

You can keep on top of market movements by viewing live rates and accessing our currency converter at www.currencysolutions.com. You can even sign up for an automatic rate alert so that you receive a text when the rates hit a pre-determined level that you choose. To talk about your currency issues – (or if you know of any good websites to watch world cup matches) give me a shout at n.hodges@currencysolutions.com or call 0207 740 0000 and ask for Nigel.

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Nigel Hodges

Senior Currency Executive www.currencysolutions.com

Monday

The strong stance taken by the new Chancellor in spelling-out the details of £6 billion worth of cuts today may help investor confidence in the Pound which has been gaining on the Euro so far this morning. The announcement is part of the coalition government's attempt to eliminate the bulk of the UK's £156 billion budget deficit over the next five years.

Also today, British Airways’ cabin crew begins its five day strike over jobs, staffing levels pay and benefits; this will be likely to cause more losses for the airline.

There is no economic data out in the UK today so movements are likely to be down to how the budget announcements are received as well as larger market themes.

Tuesday

Yesterday’s deficit cuts did little to ease growing concerns over the state of the Pound. Although the currency eased 0.6% against the dollar on the back of the Chancellors proposed plans, news coming from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange revealed that speculators are placing huge bets against the Pound.

Worries continue to grow over the state of the country’s finances and as suggested, the formation of the new coalition government has done little more than provide us with a couple of weeks of ‘honeymoon period’, which now appears to be over.

The impact of the Eurozone debt crisis appears to have stung the UK as it questions the ability of debt ridden nations to reduce the deficits they quite clearly see themselves in.

As of GMT 1100, the GBP was trading at USD 1.42760 and EUR 1.16870.

Wednesday

The Pound dropped against the Euro overnight but has picked up again so far this morning.

For the first time since the last quarter of 2008, agents have reported a residential rent rise. It has been suggested that landlords are benefiting from increased house sales; this means that the supply of residential lets has decreased, helping landlords increase rental prices and giving a boost to this area of UK economic growth.

Thursday

As UK stocks jumped and US equity futures advanced, the Pound jumped to its highest levels versus the Euro in almost a year. A reduction in the requirement for the Dollar seems to be the most likely cause for this. News coming out of China seems to have contributed to its relative strength against the Dollar.

Whilst March/April CBI data reported steady sales, the uncertainty surrounding the election have caused a severe drop in April/May figures.

The GBP/USD rate as of GMT 1240 was 1.45070 whilst the GBP/EUR rate stood at 1.18270.

Friday

A light day for data has left the market focusing on risk and equity movement, with an eye on Prudential developments. Yesterday’s gains against the USD on the back of the takeover have been sustained and this morning trading levels of 1.4585 hovered at a 2-week high.

Sterling rose to an 11-month high against the Euro yesterday fuelled by persistent structural concerns in the single currency. This morning those gains were pared somewhat, with levels at 1.1761.

British consumer confidence fell for the third month in a row in May, but the market appears to have largely shrugged this off as the pound continues to be supported by the forecast of higher interest rates to come, possibly in the latter part of the year.

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Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.com

Monday

The Pound dropped to a 13-month low after U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron revealed his government uncovered “very bad” spending decisions by the previous administration.

Property website Rightmove said today that asking prices for British homes rose more slowly in May than they did in April, in a sign that the past year's rise in house prices may be cooling off.

The BoE expects a weaker Pound going forward as their quarterly report states that “It is possible that Sterling’s depreciation may be part of a more prolonged process of rebalancing of the UK economy, generating a fall in the long-run sustainable real exchange rate”.

Tuesday

A public letter of explanation has been issued by Bank of England Governor Mervyn King as the UK reaches a 17 month inflation high.

Based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure, inflation hit 3.7% which far exceeds the 2% inflation target and has instigated Mervyn King’s letter of explanation.

The impact of this prolonged inflation high could potentially see the Sterling stumble in the currency markets, if it is not reigned in.

Wednesday

Sterling has traded near to its lowest level against the US Dollar in thirteen months. The new German restrictions on investors are spurring demand for the Dollar as a safe haven currency.

The Bank of England has released its May minutes. This suggests that the UK faces increased inflation pressures from oil prices. The interest rate and APF quantity were left unchanged in May. Despite inflation coming in at over 1 percentage point above the Bank of England’s target, the economy was deemed as showing signs of recovery.

The Pound remains in a strong position against the Euro. If you have a GBP / EUR transfer to make, speak to your broker to discuss taking advantage of current movements.

Thursday

Details of the historic coalition agreement are to be revealed today. The 30 page document was discussed yesterday and it has been stated that, although some policies had to be scrapped for the agreement to be mutual, both parties were in fact pleased with the outcome.

Sterling has today fallen to a near 14 month low against the Dollar as investors remained cautious over policy makers’ decisions on the Euro debt crisis.

Oil prices dropped below $70 per barrel as mounting debt issues across Europe continued to affect the Pound and the Euro. Britain is managing to avoid the severe crashes that Europe is facing at this point in time and at GMT 09:30 the GBP/USD was trading at 1.43670.

Although the Pound is still in a relatively strong position against the Euro, we have seen it drop slightly from yesterday’s levels and as of GMT 09:30 GBP/EUR was trading at 1.16030.

Friday

Sterling began to rise from the 14-month low against the US Dollar yesterday, in the midst of a volatile trading turn, as investors seek risk-aversion.

Positive trade data has been released regarding British car output, signaling a recovering economy. Output was up 44 percent in April in comparison with one year earlier; a total of 98,920 new cars were produced in Britain last month. The Government’s incentive scrappage scheme- introduced to boost the sector- resulted in 400,000 new car registrations.

The London stock market remained nervous this morning ahead of the meeting of European finance ministers in Brussels.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.com

A resigning Prime Minister and a new coalition government hasn't yet steadied the pound. What a week! here it is reviewed!

Monday

The UK sits in limbo following the hung Parliament result last week, although Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats has suggested that negotiations will result in a deal by the end of the day. This is believed to be some form of Liberal Democrat pact to support the Conservative minority although as yet nothing is certain.

A speedy deal is hoped for by city markets as any lengthened uncertainty could affect markets and certainly the Pound. So far, the election impact has been less than some feared. Although the Pound fell sharply against the Dollar on the day of election, it has since begun to rise in response to party negotiations and the fact that the parties have made a point that reducing the budget deficit will be the over-riding priority of any coalition.

The situation in Europe is still thought to be dominating the GBP / EUR rate; the Pound has slipped against the Euro this morning following news of an unprecedented lending plan for European Governments which has stirred up confidence in the Euro.

Tuesday

Sterling fell by more than a cent against the Dollar in the two minutes immediately following Gordon Brown’s resignation yesterday evening. The resignation has been seen as a manoeuvre in courting the Liberal Democrats and has re-opened speculation that a coalition could be formed by either Labour or the Conservatives with the Liberal Democrats. A quick decision creating a clear majority with a clear ability to cut the deficit is what markets believe is needed to ensure the strength of the Pound.

Despite the ongoing election aftermath, the Pound is making gains on the Euro. In tune with trends of the last few weeks, this is due to the volatility in the Euro rather than the state of the Pound – the most recent shift mirrors short-lived confidence in the latest European rescue package to sufficiently curb the Euro-zone crisis.

Wednesday

Investors have been keen for the last few days’ uncertainty hanging over the future of the UK Government to end. Markets have suggested that the Pound would strengthen if investors felt that a strong Government was formed who had the Parliamentary ability to pass measures to cut the UK budget deficit.

There was an immediate rise in the Pound yesterday evening following the announcement that a Conservative-Lib Dem decision had been reached. However the movements so far today, (particularly the Pound losing ground against the Dollar) suggest that investors are as yet not over-confident in the easy workings of the coalition to meet their budget cut pledges.

Part of the coalition agreement is that Britain will not join the Euro.

David Cameron’s first day at 10 Downing Street has seen a release of poor jobless data figures this morning – unemployment rose by the highest level for fifteen years in the first quarter. The Bank of England's quarterly inflation report is also due today.

Deep-set weakness in the Euro means that the GBP / EUR rate is still at a very high rate, trading at 1.17805 at 10.30am.

Thursday

Following  investor speculation, the Pound today appears to have continued its steady improvement against the USD. This is on the back of expected cuts in public debt.  However, David Cameron was on-hand to point-out that we are still in the ‘honeymoon period’, having just formed a new government, and that we must be cautious.  The Pound had recently suffered due to governmental uncertainty so it is natural that now a new government has been formed this issue should have eased slightly.

Although figures released today show that consumer confidence had increased slightly in April, expected fiscal tightening may well cancel this out over the next 6 months.

GBP/EUR rates remained favourable and although we are no longer at the one year high of last Friday, as of GMT 09:15 the rate was 1.17440.

Be aware that even if the Pound may have somewhat steadied, we are still in unpredictable times.

Friday

David Cameron’s newly formed Cabinet has met for their first cabinet meeting. Chancellor George Osborne has made it clear that the Liberal-Conservative cabinet will have to make cutting the deficit an absolute priority and that there may be some difficult times ahead. The new Cabinet has some disappointing figures to deal with straight away.

The expectation that the decline in the Pound would drive up UK exports has not been realised as yesterday the Office for National Statistics released new trade deficit figures. The value of imports exceeded exports by £3.7 billion (up from £2.2 billion in February). Events in the Eurozone may have negatively affected UK based exporters.

The Pound fell by nearly two cents against the Dollar (the lowest in a year), a cent against the Euro and made losses against other currencies such as the Japanese Yen. It has begun to rise again against the Euro so far this morning.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.com

With the electoral votes in, a hung parliament is now set to be Britain’s future, for the short term at least.  Liberal Democrats’ leader Nick Clegg acknowledged they have had a ‘disappointing night’ and with Labour and the Conservatives both unable to win outright, recent predictions have indeed proved accurate.

Pound Sterling – UK Market

Friday

The Pound has lost ground today against most major counterparts.  As a hung parliament appeared to be on the brink of occurring, the GBP/USD sank to a one-year low at 1.45; there is no guarantee that it will stop there. Furthermore, the strong GBP/EUR rates observed over the past couple of days were, as we thought, more to do with the weakness of the Euro rather than the strength of the Pound.

As was mentioned yesterday, today has made the picture a little clearer and we will undoubtedly get a better idea of the state of play as the day’s events unravel.

Thursday

Yesterday saw a lot of Euro buyers take advantage of the strong Sterling to Euro rate. It looks set to continue today. At 12:30 the GBP/EUR rate reached 1.18121.

The strong GBP/EUR rate over the last couple of days has overshadowed the fact that there is still some uncertainty hanging over the Pound.

Some predict a Tory victory, although a hung parliament is still a strong possibility. If you are concerned about how the election will affect your foreign exchange, speak to one of our brokers today.

Wednesday

The markets have opened this morning with the best GBP / EUR exchange rate for Euro buyers since August 2009 which is extremely significant given that we may be about to enter a period of uncertainty given tomorrow’s election. GBP / EUR was trading at 1.16921 today at 10am. To buy your Euros today or fix a rate for future use, speak to your broker.

The GBP / EUR rate has moved in this manner due to extreme weakness in the Euro and therefore may be clouding the true state of the Pound. However, the Pound has also been strengthening against its most-active counterparts. This has been partly attributed to some poll suggestions of a clear Conservative majority win this week rather than a hung Parliament situation. However, this could also be down to a short-term pre-election surge in the Pound. It’s a cliff hanger situation.

An additional issue on the horizon is that as countries in the Euro-zone experience credit rating downgrades, the UK must be cautious. Whichever party forms the UK Government will have to contend with the possibility of Britain losing its AAA grade credit rating.

Tuesday

Sterling’s movement has been relatively subdued so far this morning following the bank-holiday weekend with Sterling slipping only slightly against the Dollar. This may be due to market participants being wary of taking strong positions on Sterling ahead of Thursday’s election.

Today there will be a release of UK data from the Bank of England including the M4 Money Supply measuring all Sterling in circulation, Mortgage approval statistics and UK Net Lending for March. There will also be figures released on UK manufacturing figures and consumer credit.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.com

Monday

Sterling remains at a competitive rate against both the Euro and the US Dollar, with Sterling hitting 1.16051 against the Euro (11 am). The disappointing economic growth figures released on Friday have moved Sterling less than expected as it continues its rally against the dollar, and its current position against the Euro is also very strong considering events at the G-20. As the ongoing election campaign may wield volatility, it’s advisable to speak with your currency dealer about your future requirements and whether to fix a rate to avoid risk and take advantage of the current strong position.

The most significant data release has been April’s housing data from Hometrack. Whilst this has revealed an upturn with the annual pace of growth the strongest for more than two years and average house prices rising by 1.8%, the figures also crucially reveal that homes for sale are entering the market at a greater rate than house hunters – likely to be due to the threat of economic and tax changes following the election.

The election is also preying on the minds of businesses as a survey by the British Chamber of Commerce has revealed that most companies fear the impact that a hung parliament will have on them.

Tuesday

Following Sterling’s gains on the Euro yesterday, the pound has weakened slightly against the Euro so far this morning although this is still relatively high for recent weeks.

New UK housing market figures may have shaken the pound this morning. The UK Mortgage approval rate has grown by 1.6K in March, greatly underachieving against market expectations of 10.0K.

As media focus in the UK surrounds Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and any indication of which of the other two main parties he may or may not support in the event of a hung parliament, Sterling is likely to show a response as we enter the last ten days of election campaigning.

Wednesday

The Pound remains fairly steady against the Euro this morning, although levels seem to be falling slightly to what some consider to be a short term base as the turmoil in Greece continues.

As the British elections reach full steam the Tories have announced they will look to team up with smaller parties to avoid proposed plans that the Lib Dem’s will demand an electoral reform should results point to a hung parliament.

As the UK’s budget deficit jumped 76% through March to £152.8bn the Pound dropped somewhat yesterday against both the Euro and the Dollar.  This was in parallel with worries that the General Election next week will result in a parliament with very little parliamentary support.

Thursday

Despite the turmoil in Greece and Spain, the future for Sterling against the Euro is still not clear. The concern for GBP is that the UK has invested heavily in both countries; and it appears that this debt is unlikely to be repaid (in the short term at least). This has put even more pressure on Sterling at a time where a general election and the threat of the debit crisis spreading across Europe into the UK is creating continued uncertainty.

On a positive note, house prices in the UK have risen by 10.5% in the last year according to the Nationwide Building Society.

Friday

There are mixed thoughts as to who has come out on top after the last of the three election debates took place last night.  Some sources felt that there was no clear winner, whilst others believe that David Cameron put in a strong performance and is now the clear front runner.

The Pound has maintained a relatively stable position against the major currencies as Thursday saw the cable recuperate some of the losses seen on Wednesday.  The GBP/EUR remains strong despite minor overnight losses after positive news in Greece.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.com

Monday

Sterling is starting the week in a fragile state after the media hype of the weekend focused on the surge of support for the Liberal Democrats and in particular their leader Nick Clegg. As various opinion polls veraciously fuel speculation of a hung parliament, the pound sits weakly, falling the most in almost two weeks against the dollar. It has also slumped against the Yen, attributed to the Goldman Sachs investigation.

A large release of UK data is due this week, kicking off with a Right Move report on April’s house prices today. It is expected to indicate a raise, although this should be treated cautiously.

The fact that British pilots have begun to call for a banking style rescue of the UK airline industry, in the ongoing wake of the volcanic ash-cloud, does not bode well for Sterling confidence. £130 million a day is estimated to being lost by airlines due to flight restrictions.

Tuesday

The pound fell sharply yesterday after a surge in support for the Liberal Democrats increased the chances of a hung parliament. Sterling experienced its biggest drop in two weeks against the USD as opinion polls suggested no clear winner will emerge in the elections. The big issue concerning the city is that without clear leadership and a plan to reduce the countries budget deficit, Britain’s AAA credit rating might be put at risk.

Jobless statistics due out tomorrow will be closely watched, but on a positive note mortgage lending figures soared by 24% last month according to the Council of Mortgage lenders.

Wednesday

After a worrying start to the week, the Pound somewhat recovered against the USD and was simmering around the 1.54 mark at European session opening.  Unfortunately, this spike appears to have occurred in tandem with disturbing levels of inflation which suggests the BoE may be forced to increase interest rates prior to Christmas.

Thursday

As we continue to bask in the sun, March retail figures will no doubt show increased levels of spending.  However, Tesco, one of the world’s largest retail groups has come in around 2 per cent short of group trading profit forecasts.  Suggested causes behind this shortfall include recent Currency swings.  This morning’s reports suggest that the Pound will continue to make steady gains against both the Dollar and the Euro.  Everyone has their own opinion about where the gains will end, so for more information have a word to your broker.

Friday

The pound has begun to slip against the dollar immediately following the data release at 9.30 am this morning suggesting a volatile day ahead. The economy has not grown as much as anticipated and GDP has risen at 0.2 percent in the first quarter. Following the Pound’s particularly strong day against the Euro, the disappointing first quarter growth has cast light on Sterling’s fragile state just two weeks before the election and following round two of the televised election debate.

Last night, the three main party leaders clashed over foreign policy and international affairs. The discussion on issues including immigration, Europe and Trident has again indicated voter support was spread between the three parties. The Conservatives are using speculation that a hung parliament will injure UK economic recovery and Sterling as part of their campaign to discourage votes for the Liberal Democrats. Taken overall however, the various post-debate polls indicate an almost dead heat once again.

New figures confirm that the Government’s total borrowing for the financial year was £163.4 billion, the largest of any UK Government in peacetime, and unemployment is at a sixteen year high of 2.5 billion. The third round of the electoral debate on the economy next week will no doubt interrogate the wealth of statistics released this week.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.co.uk

Monday

Sterling slipped against the Euro this morning, retreating from a seven-week high. Despite its losses against the single currency, the Pound hit an eight-week high versus the Dollar. However, this rally has since stalled after Gordon Brown vowed to restore services in the UK.

Market participants believe additional gains are unlikely given the political uncertainties ahead of the UK general election, which will likely hamper UK currency until clearer signs emerge as to who will win.

By 0930 GMT Sterling traded at EUR1.1316 and USD1.5459. For those making money transfers, today’s data includes the trade balance, BRC retail sales and the RICS house price balance which gauges the cost of homes in the UK.

Tuesday

The pound was pressured this morning after data showed that UK house prices grew at their slowest pace last month since July 2009.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors revealed that its monthly house price balance dropped to +9 in March from an upwardly revised +18 in February, catching off-guard a number of economists who had forecast a rise to +19.

Other data from the British Retail Consortium showed retail sales jumped at their fastest pace in a year in March, but the figures were flattered by the earlier timing of Easter.

Sterling-specific news remains overshadowed by the countries fiscal problems and following Greece’s recovery plan, a foreboding focus is now shifting towards the British Isles as the pound feels the pressure.

Wednesday

Sterling was marginally higher against the dollar and yen in early trading, following stronger than predicted balance of trade statistics. The Pounds exchange rate has since steadied and remains hampered by political indecision prior to the May 6th ballot.

The balance, in terms of goods and services, narrowed from a revised figure of minus £3.9 billion in January to minus £2.1bn in February, reflecting a £1.2bn rise in exports and a £0.6bn fall in imports.

However, despite this progress, there are no data releases scheduled for Wednesday to push the Pound further and focus has returned to the latest opinion polls showing that Britain is still heading for an inconclusive election. This sees the UK exchange rate steady at USD1.5434 and EUR1.1302 at 0935 GMT.

Thursday

Sterling reached a seven-week high against the Dollar this morning after an opinion poll suggested the opposition Conservatives could win an overall majority in the UK election. The Pound also hit a one-week high against the euro as the poll showed the Conservatives leading Labour by twelve points in crucial marginal constituencies.

Until the release of March inflation data next Tuesday we’ll be experiencing a dry patch for UK economic statistics barring today’s consumer confidence figures for March.

The freshest figures for traders to ponder came from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, indicating an upturn in the housing market in February. However, we’ll get a more clarified idea of the housing market when seasonally adjusted data becomes available for the first quarter.

Friday

Sterling has slipped following last night’s much publicised electoral debate, suggesting volatility throughout the general election campaign looks set to continue.

Last night’s televised debate between leaders of the UK’s three major parties has further fuelled the possibility of a hung parliament. The strong performance of Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader, has led to increased voter uncertainty and suggested the third party may hold the balance of power. The suggestion of a hung parliament is likely to weaken confidence in Sterling as the UK debt crisis will be deemed to be more difficult to address after the 6th May.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.co.uk

March produced the latest Budget report, and with politics pressuring the pound we’re likely to see volatility between now and the election. Before the polls decide who will be Britain’s next Darling, take a look at our affiliates who are on hand to make sense of it all!

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Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.co.uk 

Another Sterling week from Currency Solutions! a little shorter than usual thanks to the Easter Bank Holiday Monday but our comprehensive day-to-day review from our friends at CS helps you keep up-to-date with all things money.

For more information on the GBP and other major currencies click here or for currency changing and your FREE CURRENCY SOLUTIONS GUIDE client pack, click here

Tuesday

The Pound traded down versus the Dollar and made slight losses to the Euro this morning as mixed political polls hampered Sterling’s exchange rate.

The prospect of a hung parliament has hammered sterling down almost 10% versus the Dollar this year alone as investors worry about a weak government's ability to tackle the UK's gaping public finance deficit.

Wednesday

The BCC’s latest survey has revealed the UK’s economy continued to grow in the first quarter, although it is still election polls that are likely to influence Sterling over the coming weeks up to the announced election date of 6Th May. 

Sterling took a slight dip following the election date announcement but quickly recovered due to other worldwide events.

The latest polls have revealed a narrowing gap between the two main UK parties, currently suggesting the Conservatives may not win an overall majority.

Sterling therefore is doing well to be sitting high against the Euro at 87.93 pence.

The GBP/USD is attempting to break below the support area of 1.5238 with little movement so far today.

Thursday

The pound continues to feel pressure from political uncertainty as a mixed bag of polls did little to clarify the murky prospect of a hung parliament. This morning two opinion polls showed Britain's ruling Labour Party has gained ground on the main opposition Conservatives, but a third suggested the Conservative Party had extended its lead.

This pushed sterling down almost half a percent in the currency exchange market to a session low of USD1.5149, and at 0919 GMT traded around the 1.5225 mark.

A report in a UK newspaper citing the Bank for International Settlements saying Britain will need "drastic" austerity measures to reduce public debts is also thought to have kept Sterling under selling pressure.

Friday

The pound rose to USD1.5333 earlier today, its highest level since March 17th, with the week's robust set of data keeping the wind in Sterling’s sail.

Yesterday's decision to leave interest rates unchanged went virtually unnoticed amongst speculators but Sterling held firm since production data came in above market expectations yesterday while house price data for March showed an increase of 1.1%. Today's producer price data should provide further direction as to whether or not inflation continues to edge lower as suggested by the Bank of England's price forecasts.

Sterling has since settled from its high against the Dollar to trade at 1.5284 at 0904 GMT and EUR1.1449.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.co.uk

Currency Solutions once again review the pound this week, for a free guide on 'How to control your currency as the market moves in 2010' and access to the daily newsletter reviewing the pound, euro, dollar and the other 'top movers' click here

Monday

The pound fell against the dollar as a YouGov Plc poll published in yesterday’s Sunday Times reinforced concern that the election will produce a government without a parliamentary majority.  Sterling also slipped for the first time in three days versus the euro on concern that the UK will have difficulty servicing its ballooning debt.

At 1011 GMT sterling traded at 1.5038 against the dollar and 1.0970 versus the euro.

London's FTSE index was down 0.2% in early trade and sterling fell nearly 0.5% against the yen as investors shied from riskier assets after Shanghai shares ended 1.2% lower.

As well as the Fed’s decision tomorrow, which will undoubtedly affect GBP/USD to a significant degree, the market will be looking to the minutes of the latest BoE meeting, due out on Wednesday, which are expected to show a decision to leave policy unchanged.

Tuesday

The pound fell at the European open on the draft, which suggested the Commission will tell Britain to do more to cut its deficit in the medium term.

At 0938 GMT, sterling had recovered to trade at USD1.5058, off earlier lows of USD1.4977 but was down slightly against the euro at 1.1005.

Analysts believe much of this weakness is already reflected in the value of the pound and therefore further downside potential for sterling should be limited in the near term.

Wednesday

The pound hit a two-week high of 1.5270 against the dollar in early trade ahead of the release of Bank of England policy meeting minutes.

Sterling began its rise yesterday when healthy UK housing data and political opinion polls triggered a round of short-covering which helped the pound recover from recent losses to climb more than 1% against the dollar.

Opinion polls showed that Britain's main opposition Conservatives are back on course to win the election, expected to happen in May.

At 0946 GMT the pound traded at 1.5210. It will be interesting to see whether or not UK currency can maintain this strength, as there is still caution in the air concerning the nation’s public finances and gigantic deficit.

Thursday

Wednesday’s data helped push the pound to a strong position this morning against a weakened euro but traders were cautious before today’s public finance figures. However, the data showed UK public finances deteriorated by less than economists had forecast in February, which kept the pound strong in the global currency exchange markets.

At 1000 GMT sterling traded at 1.1171 against the euro and 1.5275 versus the US dollar.

Good data has contributed to the view that the UK economy may be recovering better than previously thought, lessening the chances that the Bank of England will opt to expand asset purchases under its quantitative easing programme.

Friday

Andrew Sentance said that it must be recognised that “there is some risk of a double dip” with regard to the recession though he expected inflation in Britain to fall back to the central bank's 2% target, or below, helped by muted wage growth.

The pound was under pressure after failing to break above USD1.5330 yesterday and at 1005 GMT traded at USD1.5240. Against the euro, the pound fell 0.5% in early trading and at 1013 GMT traded at 1.1204.

For those looking to make a foreign exchange transfer today it would be worth monitoring any political developments as the prospect of a hung parliament still hampers sterling’s gains despite polls favoring the conservatives earlier this week.

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.co.uk

Welcome to our new weekly Pound report from the Currency Solutions newsletter - providing a day-by-day analysis on the GBP.

Each day the Currency Solutions team review the Pound, Dollar, Euro and other top movers with a daily newsletter sent to your inbox.

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Monday

The halting of interest rates last week suggested that the BoE are taking a ‘wait and see’ stance on the country’s hesitant economic recovery and this made for a quiet few days. This morning at 1033 GMT the pound traded above the 1.510 level against the dollar at 1.5116 and 1.1084 versus the euro.

Some economists say that a weakening pound is good for Britain at present, not only because it tends to boost economic growth by making British goods and services more competitive on world markets, but also because it will help to rebalance the structure of the economy.

Tuesday

Sterling dipped below USD1.50 this morning, approaching the lowest level against the dollar in 10 months, as data showed a drop in UK house prices. The pound traded at 1.4987 at 0923 GMT.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its monthly house price balance dropped to +17 in February from a downwardly revised +31 in January. The data showed that February's decline was the sharpest one-month fall since April 2008.

Traders have also been unnerved by a ratings agency report on the impact of the eventual reduction of state aid on British banks.

Wednesday

Sterling slid to one-week lows against the dollar and euro today after data showing an unexpected fall in British manufacturing gave the pound another clout as it still remains dazed from political and economic uncertainty.

Data showing British manufacturing output declining 0.9% in January, the sharpest monthly rate since last August pushed the pound to fall over 40 pips against the euro, and 50 pips against the dollar in today's mid-day trading. At 1428 GMT it traded at 1.4956 versus the dollar and 1.0978 against the euro.

Fears about a hung parliament were flagged by political opinion polls yesterday and concerns about Britain's sovereign ratings after a ratings agency highlighted the country's worsening credit profile.

Thursday

Sterling managed a slight recovery from its lows yesterday but many believe this could well be a period of calm between storms as political and fiscal pressures continue to burden UK currency.

 At 0903 GMT, sterling traded close to flat against the dollar at 1.4977 and has since moved down slightly to 1.4961 at the time of writing. Euro/sterling was unchanged in early trading at 91.10 pence, off Wednesday's high of 91.30.

Adding to the negativity was concern over Britain's sovereign ratings after Fitch Ratings highlighted on Tuesday the country's deteriorating credit profile.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he believed Britain would maintain its coveted top credit rating also saying that economic recovery remained fragile and to change course now would risk plunging Britain back into recession.

Later today the British Consumer Inflation Expectation Report may cause some ripples in sterling’s waters.

Friday

A poll showed the opposition Conservatives gaining 39% of the vote, with the Labour Party on 26% forecasting an outright majority win for the Tories.
Earlier at 0905 GMT, sterling was up 0.3% against the dollar at USD1.5103 and currently at 0954 GMT trades slightly above that level at USD1.5139.

However, the pound failed to make much of a case against the euro which was steady in early trading and currently sits at EUR1.1012.

Investors are remaining cautious as recent polls have suggested the election could result in a hung parliament, which would potentially hamper any incoming government's efforts to cut the UK's expanding budget deficit.

Remember you can get extra information five days a week also covering the Euro, Dollar and other top currencies by signing up to the Currency Solutions Newsletter. To sign up to the Currency Solutions daily newsletter or for more information on their products click here

Nigel Hodges www.currencysolutions.co.uk

Even though last week ended with Friday the thirteenth the news wasn’t all bad for sterling, as the pound pushed higher against the euro and US dollar following positive labour market figures in the US. New Zealand also had a good week, with the NZD reaching rare heights against the US dollar and the All Whites qualifying for the World Cup in a match against Bahrain.

So last week began with a rally in equity markets as the G20 pledged to maintain support for the global economy. This sent the Dow to a 15-month high and filtered its way around the world leading to a rise in risk appetite in foreign exchange markets. In the midst of all this volatility the pound has managed to maintain its recent trading ranges, with the slow process of currency diversification continuing to support the euro at present.

Sterling has remained well within recent ranges, gaining ground on the US dollar and yen this morning as the Japanese economy recorded growth in the third quarter. Last week the UK trade balance continued to widen and unemployment rose to 7.8%, pushing the pound lower, not helped by dovish comments from Mervyn King which led to speculation that the Bank is keeping the door open for further QE if necessary.

Sterling received a boost on Friday after eurozone GDP came in slightly weaker than expected, and this week we can expect some volatility as the consumer price index and retail figures are accompanied by the Bank of England’s inflation letter.

For the US dollar, weak labour market data early last week led to speculation that the US may record a contraction in the fourth quarter, and this sent exchange rates for the greenback higher. Equities rose to a 15-month high, as did Aussie currency rates against the US dollar on the back of the strength of global recovery.

US retail sales figures are due out today and these are expected to climb in October on the back of the “cash for clunkers” initiative. Markets are anticipating a 1% rise and this could lead to further gains for the higher yielding currencies at the expense of the US dollar and yen.

In the eurozone currency rates have remained strong after French and German GDP figures came out positive and risk appetite in the market received a boost. The German economy grew 0.7% in the third quarter while industrial output rose 2.7% in October. The French economy also grew, by 0.3% while the regional figure for the 16-nation zone was in the region of 0.4%. Although slightly weaker than expected, this failed to dent exchange rates for the euro and the ECB continues to hint at tightening of monetary policy in future.

Elsewhere the New Zealand and Australian currencies continue to strengthen, with the Aussie reaching a 15-month high against the US dollar over the last week. There is now growing concern down under over the strengthening currencies and market dynamics are exerting a large influence on currency exchange rates at present.

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Like the Liverpool football team, the pound is failing to have much success in currency markets at present as a raft of weak economic data is conspiring to keep the UK currency weak.

As the global economy staggers towards a recovery, the way forward still remains rocky as reflected in currency exchange markets this week. US labour market figures came in weaker than expected, with unemployment rising to 10.2%, while on the other hand, equity markets hit a 13-month high. This has led to a see-saw for currency exchange rates between risk appetite and risk aversion, although with most of the major currencies finding more stable trading ranges than in recent months.

In the UK this last week, the pound suffered pressure ahead of the Bank of England MPC decision, but eventually rose after the Bank decided to expand their asset purchase program by GBP25 billion rather than the expected GBP50 billion. Sterling later received a boost following news that the manufacturing sector PMI expanded into positive territory for the month of October but has since dropped back to hover around the 1.66 mark against the US dollar and 1.11 against the euro. This week brings the UK unemployment rate and the Bank of England inflation letter.

Currency exchange rates for the US dollar have held their ground after the FOMC voted to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.25%, and signaled that rates may remain low for some time. Equities in the US rallied after US automobile giant Ford announced profits of nearly USD1 billion in the 3 months to September, as the “cash for clunkers” initiative helped to revitalize the automobile industry. Overnight, US equities have reached a 13-month high after the G20 nations G20 pledged to maintain support for the global economy.

Euro currency exchange rates have remained relatively unchanged, as the euro is supported by strong German trade figures and the rise in currency diversification internationally. PMI figures for manufacturing in the eurozone also came in stronger for October, while unemployment rose to 9.7%. There remain nagging doubts in the region as to the stability of recovery, with the banking sector still regarded as unstable. This week UBS has reported greater than expected losses and the French finance minister warned against “banks on steroids” due to government cash injections. This week brings third quarter GDP figures from Germany and France.

Elsewhere, Australia raised interest rates to 3.5% while forecasting three times better than expected growth in 2010, yet the Aussie and Kiwi currencies have fallen from recent highs amid concerns that the currencies have rallied too sharply in the wake of the financial crisis. The Aussie dollar has slid 0.4% against the US dollar while the kiwi fell 0.6% this week. 

So at present, the global economy retains some of its uncertainty from recent months. Equity markets have experienced a sharp rally recently, complimented by positive activity in the manufacturing sectors of the US, UK and eurozone, yet unemployment continues to be a major drag on economic recovery.

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Nigel Hodges (Currency Solutions).

MPC member David Blanchflower reiterated the impending possibilities of QE extension, saying that the Bank of England could pull out as much as GBP250 billion from the current GBP175 billion.

Despite the gloom, the pound surprised everyone rallying against all major currencies bar the yen. Sterling maintained a five-day winning streak against the euro and kept cable at 1.64 against the US dollar on Thursday. Friday saw the charge continue, as UK currency hit a six-week high against the euro at GBP/EUR1.115, helped along by the highest UK mortgage data the UK has seen in 18 months. UK residential investment also jumped 23% midweek, contributing to GDP for the first time since 2005.

A successful week for sterling suggested that the worst could be behind the UK economy, however some forecasts suggest GBP could again have a tough week. All will be revealed after the BoE meeting on Thursday, with a decision on QE expected to be announced around midday.

The real drivers for both UK consumer spending and residential investment were actually the hefty government stimulus packages from across the pond, totaling some USD1.7 trillion, the Cash for Clunkers initiative certainly played its part. In the US last week, figures showed that business inventories declined at a slower pace this quarter falling by USD131 billion compared to 160 billion in the last quarter. In another report, weekly jobless claims fell by a modest 1,000 last week to 530,000, which, although heartening, didn’t promise much for the Non Farm Payrolls data due this week.

Markets were illuminated by all the encouraging US data and equity and commodity prices responded well as risk aversion abated. Yet none of this was of any benefit to the dollar which was, as a result, sold widely.

Monday had seen US currency drop to a 14-month low against the euro, following a Chinese report which said Beijing should increase its holdings of euros and yen in its foreign reserves. The following day saw the dollar hit its highest in a month against Japanese currency, touching 92.33 yen and by Wednesday weak US data and volatilities in the equity market paved the way for a flight to the greenback which kept getting stronger. This all came about due to fears that an economic recovery would take longer than previously expected, pulling investors away from the higher yielding currencies and boosting the dollar in the markets. The greenback’s climb gently eased towards the end of the week as investors waited on announcements of more US data. 

The euro began the week trading past USD1.50 for the first time in 14 months after a Chinese report prompted investors to sell the dollar for the single currency. However, later on Monday the European currency experienced its steepest fall since early August, dropping nearly 1%. Meanwhile, the dollar index posted its best daily gain since September as investors unwound short dollar positions after a sudden fall in stocks and commodities. Thursday brought more misery on the single currency as it entered a fourth straight day of losses against sterling to trade at EUR/GBP 0.89.
 

There were various movements in other parts of the world on Friday as the yen strengthened following the year's biggest first-day launch for a single series of Japanese mutual bonds. Both the Australian and New Zealand dollar fell against the yen and were also weaker against the US dollar trading at AUD0.914 and NZD0.729 respectively.

On the same day Canada’s dollar emerged from a three-week low against its US counterpart, strengthening 1.3% to CAD1.067. This week all eyes will be on the Bank of England meeting, which will surely see a wave of activity depending on what is decided with regard to QE.

Nigel Hodges (Currency Solutions).