The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR), Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) and Pound Sterling to Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rates were all trending higher on Friday as the UK general election looked to be on course for a Conservative majority win after a fierce few months of debate and Pound Sterling volatility.
UK General Election Lifts Weight on Pound Sterling Exchange Rate as Conservatives Storm into the Lead – Labour’s Miliband, UKIP’s Farage Resigns
Farage is about to speak pic.twitter.com/l0gYa0A48G
— Ben Quinn (@BenQuinn75) May 8, 2015
The general election has experienced some major ups and downs and been surprising to say the least. Friday morning has seen votes flood in for the Conservative party, leaving the Labour party significantly bruised after polls had pegged the two parties as extremely close in the run up to the vote.
As a result, UKIP’s Nigel Farage and Labour leader Ed Miliband have conceded defeat and resigned.
Miliband commented on the Labour defeat, saying: ‘This has clearly been a very disappointing and difficult night for the Labour party. We have not made the gains we wanted in England and Wales, and in Scotland we have seen a surge of nationalism overwhelm our party. I want to say to all the dedicated and decent colleagues in Scotland who have lost their seats that I am deeply sorry for what has happened.’
German Industrial Production Sinks – Euro (EUR) Exchange Rate Weakens
Meanwhile, the Euro (EUR) exchange rate has been trading lower after a disappointing morning for Eurozone domestic data. German Industrial Production registered -0.5% contraction in March, causing the annual ecostat to drop from a positively revised 0.2% in February to only 0.1% in March.
Economist Johannes Gareis commented: ‘The fundamentals look good and German manufacturers should benefit from the weaker Euro and the higher growth in neighbouring countries. Yet, there are some worries, which include China’s economic struggles, the question marks hanging over the state of the US economy and continuing Russian woes.’
US Dollar and Canadian Dollar Exchange Rates Forecast for Movement on Labour Market Data
Meanwhile, the US Dollar is forecast to swing later in Friday’s European session with the release of the highly influential US Change in Non-Farm Payrolls and US Unemployment Rate numbers.
Any favourable US labour market stats could cause the US Dollar to rally as investors’ price in the possibility of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike. The Fed has previously stated the importance of a strong labour market and the impact it could have in a cycle of heightening borrowing costs.
The Canadian Dollar exchange rate will also be under pressure today with the North American nation detailing its own labour market figures. The Canadian Unemployment Rate is forecast to climb from 6.8% to 6.9% in April. The Canadian Net Change in Employment ecostat is predicted to see the North American nation shed -5.0K jobs in April after March’s +28.7K gain.
The Pound Sterling to Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate is trading in the region of 1.8679. The Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate is trading at 1.5447. The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate is trending in the region of 1.3746.
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