Pound vs Euro

GBP vs EUR
On Friday morning the Euro zone officially announced it had come out of recession with a growth in GDP of 0.4% just under expectation for a growth of 0.5%. The currency markets had priced in the figures and so we saw little movement in exchange rates between Sterling and Euro.

The German ZEW think-tank's business survey showed that confidence levels in the Euro zone's largest economy weakened in November, raising some concerns that the economy's recovery could be more tentative in the coming months.

One of the reasons why the Euro zone has recovered quicker than the UK is because their financial sectors account for a smaller proportion of their economies. Stronger exports driven in Germany particularly by the car market has contributed hugely to the Euro zone’s recovery.

Only Spain and Ireland remain in recession. These announcements have potential to affect GBP/EUR exchange rates so if you are looking to purchase any of these currencies now maybe the time to contact your account executive to discuss the options available to you.

What you can do
With not much movement on the Market at the moment one may look into a Stop/Limit order, this gives you the option to look at prices which are not quite available on the market at present and also but putting a stop in this protects you against any reverse spikes against you.

For example if you are looking for a better price than is currently available one could put a limit order in to the market place at a price which is above or below interbank. However, on the flip side you may wish to protect your purchase from a market downturn and place a lower stop in case the market fluctuates the wrong way. (This is reversed if selling a currency)

This Week’s Data
This week is a much quieter week in terms of data releases, with nothing to note from the Eurozone aside from any un-announced press releases from European Central Bank officials which may occur.

In the UK, we have Bank of England minutes released on Wednesday. However, these are unlikely to reveal any big surprises, as Mervyn King outlined his view of the economy in last week’s quarterly inflation report. Looking to the USA, we have more data coming out, with Retail Sales, inflation and the leading indicators index as the week goes on.

Please find a full calendar below:

Monday
US – Retail Sales
UK – Rightmove House Prices

Tuesday
UK – CPI & RPI Inflation
US – October PPI Inflation

Wednesday
UK – Bank of England Minues
US – CPI & Real Earnings

Thursday
UK – M4 Money Supply
UK – Retail Sales

For more information on the information contained in this report, contact us today: