Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rate News – Sterling little changed despite fall in business optimism

The Pound is little changed against its most traded peers following the release of data which showed that business optimism in the UK fell in January.

According to the Confederation of British Industry, business confidence fell to 21 in the first month of 2014, down from the figure of 24 recorded in December. Despite the fall in confidence the Pound managed to hold gains against its peers as investors looked ahead to the more important unemployment and Bank of England policy meeting minutes due on Wednesday.

A separate report released by the CBI also offered some counterweight to the confidence report. The CBI’s quarterly industrial trends survey showed that growth in new manufacturing orders soared to their highest level since April 2011. In the three months leading up to January 2014, domestic orders increased and uncertainty over demand declined.

“The recovery in the manufacturing sector is continuing to build and confidence has improved. Growth in the volume of total new orders has reached its highest rate since April 2011, and this is encouraging. However, now is not the time to relax and take our foot off the gas. There are still risks ahead and our manufacturers need help to break into high-growth export markets,” said CBI Director of Economics, Stephen Gifford.

Sterling is likely to push higher against its peers during Wednesday’s session as economists are forecasting that the UK’s unemployment rate will fall closer to the 7% target set by the Bank of England. If it does then expectations will increase that the BoE could raise interest rates sooner than previously expected.

Pound Exchange Rates

[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Pound Sterling,,US Dollar,1.6424 ,
Pound Sterling ,,Euro,1.2141 ,
Pound Sterling ,,Australian Dollar,1.8696 ,
Pound Sterling ,,Canadian Dollar,1.8073 ,
US Dollar,, Pound Sterling ,0.6088 ,
Euro,, Pound Sterling,0.8233 ,
Australian Dollar,, Pound Sterling,0.5347 ,
Canadian Dollar,, Pound Sterling ,0.5531 ,
[/table]