In the aftermath of the release of UK employment figures, the minutes from the Bank of England’s latest policy meeting and George Osborne’s budget, the Pound strengthened and the GBP to EUR pairing was able to advance.
Sterling rallied against the Euro in spite of the rebound in Eurozone construction output and largely held gains overnight.
As trading progressed on Thursday the Pound pushed above the physiological 1.20 level against the Euro.
The common currency was little affected by a report detailing a seventh month of falling producer prices in February.
Producer prices slipped by 0.9 per cent in February, year-on-year, and stagnated on the month.
The Pound meanwhile was slightly supported as British factory orders advanced by a little more than projected this month.
CBI monthly industrial trends data showed a +6 reading in March following a +3 reading in February – topping expectations for a reading of +5.
However, the CBI export order book fell from -1 last month to -10 in March –indicating that the UK economic recovery still has areas of weakness.
CBI economic analyst Anna Leach said of the result; ‘The picture in the manufacturing sector remains positive. Overall, demand continues to rise and output growth is robust. Growth in exports is crucial to rebalancing the economy and ensuring a sustainable recovery… Measures announced in the Budget should help businesses to break into new, faster growing markets and underpin an improvement in the UK’s export performance.’
The Pound was also stronger against its Australian and New Zealand counterparts.
However, in light of yesterday’s Federal Open Market Committee announcement the GBP to USD pairing was struggling.
The Federal Reserve’s decision to continue with the steady tapering of stimulus and hint at the prospect of increasing interest rates saw the US Dollar broadly strengthen, and the ‘Greenback’ held gains into European trading.
Further US Dollar movement may occur later today as US initial jobless claims, existing home sales and leading indicators reports are published.
More Pound fluctuations can be expected before the weekend following the release of UK public sector net borrowing figures.
Pound (GBP) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Pound Sterling,
,US Dollar,1.6507 ,
Pound Sterling,,Euro,1.1990,
Pound Sterling,,Australian Dollar,1.8325,
Pound Sterling,,New Zealand Dollar,1.9364 ,
US Dollar,,Pound Sterling,0.6058,
Euro,,Pound Sterling,0.8341,
Australian Dollar,,Pound Sterling,0.5454,
New Zealand Dollar,,Pound Sterling,0.5155,
[/table]
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