Although UK consumer confidence unexpectedly declined this month, largely due to above-target inflation increasing pressure on household spending, the Pound continues to trade within touching distance of yesterday’s two-month high against the US Dollar ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two day policy meeting.
The Pound Sterling Exchange Rate was in the region of 1.5496 against the US Dollar as of 10:30 am GMT
According to a GfK NOP sentiment index, in April consumer confidence slid slightly, dropping from minus 26 to minus 27 while a gauge of consumer expectations also fell by a point. Economists had expected no change.
In response to the results a representative of GfK stated: ‘A move up would suggest that the index has indeed ‘paused for breath’ after its rise at the end of 2012 and was still heading in the right direction, [but the decline] implies the recovery in confidence has stalled, and real recovery looks a long way away.’
Meanwhile, separate GfK data showed that 1 point increase in a gauge of how Briton’s view the general economic situation.
In other UK news, mortgage approvals for home purchases experienced a stronger-than-forecast rebound in March as the Bank of England’s Funding for Lending Scheme continued to have a positive effect. Although the BOE data also showed that lending to businesses decreased in March, the fall occurred at a slower rate than in the previous month.
Sterling remains supported by last week’s UK GDP data, which showed growth of 0.3 per cent rather than the 0.1 per cent expected.
And there was more positive news for the UK yesterday as the nation’s average house price values increased by 0.3 per cent in April.
The British currency was able to gain on the Euro this morning as unemployment in the Eurozone was shown to have reached a record high of 12.1 per cent, exacerbating concerns regarding the currency bloc’s economic outlook and triggering widespread Euro declines.
The outcome of the US central bank’s two day policy meeting is likely to inspire significant market volatility. Given the recent run of worse-than-anticipated US data, investors are betting that the FOMC will opt to maintain current levels of stimulus and issue a dovish statement.
Current Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rates
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The Pound Sterling/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5496 >
The Pound Sterling/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1853 >
The Pound Sterling/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4967 <
The Pound Sterling/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.8119 >
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6455 >
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8438 <
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6679 >
The New Zealand Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5519 <
(As of 10:26 am GMT)
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