The Pound Exchange Rate strengthened against a the majority of its most traded peers on Friday, adding to yesterday’s gains after a report showed that UK car sales soared to their highest half-year level since 2005.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) the number of cars sold in the first six-months of the year was 1.28 million, the best half-year figure recorded since 2005. Last month saw new car registrations surge by 6.2% to 228,291 units.
The data also shows that the market is on track to see a further 2.4 million new sales by the end of 2014, a 6% increase upon the previous year.
Strong car sales is a good sign that an economy is strengthening as people only tend to payout for new cars when they feel financially secure.
‘Improving economic conditions have helped propel the UK new car market to a strong first half-year performance, with registrations up 10.6% on the same period in 2013. The overall market has risen faster than we were expecting but, after a bumper March, growth is showing signs of stabilising around our forecasted level,’ said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
The Pound advanced above 1.26 against the Euro and was holding close to a six-year high against the US Dollar following the report.
The Euro was weakened earlier in the session by the release of a worse-than-expected German factory orders report.
Orders for German goods declined by 1.7% from Aprils figure in May as concerns over the Eurozone economy and tensions between the West and Russia weighed upon demand.
The US Dollar is set to have a quiet session today due to the closure of the USA’s markets for the Independence Day National Holiday.
As a result trade in general for most currencies is likely to be thin with geopolitical events being the main catalysts for movement in today’s session.
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,1.7151 ,
Pound Sterling,,Euro,1.2622 ,
Pound Sterling,,Australian Dollar,1.8328 ,
Pound Sterling,,New Zealand Dollar,1.9637 ,
US Dollar,,Pound Sterling,0.5831 ,
Euro,, Pound Sterling ,0.7922 ,
Australian Dollar,, Pound Sterling ,0.5454 ,
New Zealand Dollar,,Pound Sterling,0.5093 ,
[/table]
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