Shortly after the European session opened the Pound was able to extend recent gains against the Euro and romp close to a nine-month high against the US Dollar. While the appeal of higher-risk assets was dampened by political concerns in the US and Italy, stronger-than-anticipated UK news helped the Pound climb.
The Pound Sterling to Euro Exchange Rate was in the region of 1.1963 as of 10:50 GMT.
After broadly strengthening last week after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney issued hawkish statements regarding the prospect of additional easing, Sterling brushed highs of 0.8326 pence against the Euro and 1.6174 against the US Dollar as UK housing data surprised to the upside.
A report compiled by Hometrack showed that UK house prices enjoyed their most significant advance for six years in September. While this result does add to housing bubble concerns, it also shows that governmental measures are having the desired affect and that the UK economic recovery continues to gain momentum.
Average house prices jumped 0.5 per cent this month, the most sizable climb since 2007, following a gain of 0.4 per cent in August.
Hometrack representative Richard Donnell issued the following comment with the data; ‘Over the last few years, the housing market has been split between a buoyant London, boosted by overseas demand, and a trend of falling prices across other regions. Now we are seeing continued house-price growth in London combining with modest gains across other regions and creating a picture of a broadening market recovery.’
1 Euro is currently worth 0.8359 pence
Separate figures showed that UK mortgage approvals rose to an over five-year high last month. 62,226 mortgages were approved in August, up from 60, 914 in July and the most since the beginning of 2008.
The report beat the 61,500 estimate.
Although business lending declined by 3.8 billion Pounds in August month-on-month the Pound extended gains against several of its most traded peers after the data was published.
In response to the British currency’s movement senior currency strategist Lutz Karpowitz stated; ‘UK data have been better than expected, which makes it more unlikely that the BOE will add to their stimulus. The Pound is benefiting against the Euro from the Italian government troubles.’
The GBP/USD pairing is likely to experience additional volatility today as the Federal budget deadline approaches and the prospect of a government shutdown increases.
Other influential UK data to watch out for in the week ahead includes manufacturing, construction and services PMI, published on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
Current Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rates:
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The Pound Sterling/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6152 >
The Pound Sterling/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1963 >
The Pound Sterling/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.7306 <
The Pound Sterling/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.9501 >
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6192 <
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8359 <
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5770 <
The New Zealand Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5121 <
(As of 10:50 GMT)
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