The Pound Sterling softened against the Danish Krone (GBP/DKK), Swedish Krona (GBP/SEK) and Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK) on Friday due to uncertainty over the upcoming general election and the release of a softer than forecast Consumer Confidence report.
The Pound Sterling to Danish Krone (GBP/DKK) exchange rate fell to a session low of 10.234
Sterling weakened against the Danish Krone as domestic data out of the Scandinavian nation showed that the Danish economy expanded for a sixth consecutive quarter in the final quarter of 2014.
According to Statistics Denmark, Gross Domestic Product grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% from the third quarter, where it rose by 0.5%. Economists had been forecasting for zero growth.
On a year on year basis, the Danish economy expanded by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, a figure that was double the 0.7% expansion figure expected by economists. For 2014, GDP rose by 1%.
The Pound Sterling to Swedish Krona (GBP/SEK) exchange rate fell to a session low of 12.77
Against the Swedish Krona, the Pound weakened by more than 0.88% as data out of the Scandinavian nation beat economist forecasts. According to Statistics Sweden, the Swedish economy expanded by 1.1% in the final quarter of last year. On an annual basis, GDP improved by 2.7% compared with the same period in 2013. A rise of 2% had been forecast.
The latest research from Statistics Sweden also revealed that household consumption rose by 0.9 percent compared to the previous quarter, while exports and imports to and from the Nordic nation and production of goods and services also increased over the same period.
‘Overall, firms are more optimistic about the immediate future, but that is likely due to an adjustment to, in many respects, a new reality rather than that fundamental factors have become more positive. However, CFOs (Chief Financial Officers) predict strong organic growth in 2015, which is consistent with our GDP forecast,’ said Johan Lindgren, Credit Strategist at SEB.
The Pound Sterling to Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK) Exchange Rate hit a session low of 11.725
Sterling also weakened against the Norwegian currency after data showed that the jobless rate in the Scandinavian nation fell from January’s figure of 3.1% to 3%.
This was in line with the consensus estimate. The number of persons registered as unemployed with NAV totalled 81,534 in February, less than 82,577 in January. A year earlier, there were 77,872 unemployed persons.
Sterling will likely experience volatility from PMI data released next week.
