The Pound firmed against the majority of its most traded peers managing to reach a one-month high against the US Dollar after GDP data confirmed that the UK economy grew at its fastest pace in three years.
According to the Office for National Statistics, UK GDP rose by 0.8% in the third quarter of the year, matching an earlier initial estimate. There had been concerns that the national economy could suffer as a result of a large decline in exports, but they were put to rest as the report showed that an increase in house building and investment offset the export decline. On a year by year basis GDP rose to 1.5%.
Wednesday’s data confirmed that the UK economy, which was at one time lagging behind its peers, is now one of the fastest growing developed economies in the world. Earlier in the month the Bank of England raised its growth forecasts for the country as unemployment fell at a faster rate than predicted.
“The momentum in growth will continue for a while longer but we’re less convinced we’ll see these rates of growth continue through to next year as much depends on the outlook for business investment,” said an economist at Investec Securities in London. “The BOE’s emphasis for the time being will be that there isn’t going to be an interest-rate hike in the near future.”
The UK’s economic expansion could come under pressure from the lackluster performance of the Eurozone which appears to be seeing a recovery stall in many member nations. Instead the UK economy was driven by increased domestic factors such as an increase in activity in the property markets.
All eyes will now be on this afternoon’s data from the United States.
Current Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rates:
The Pound Sterling/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6221
The Pound Sterling/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1938
The Pound Sterling/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.7803
The Pound Sterling/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.9795
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6164
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8376
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5617
The New Zealand Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5051
(As of 10:20 am GMT)
Comments are closed.