19th May 2011
Good morning. Sterling fell to a 6 week low against the US Dollar and slipped against the Euro yesterday, as a mixed UK employment report and a slightly dovish tone to Bank of England policy minutes painted a cloudy picture. At 08:30am this morning rates are as follows:
- GBP/EUR 1.1330
- GBP/USD 1.6140
- GBP/AUD 1.5145
- GBP/NZD 2.0362
- GBP/CAD 1.5630
- GBP/CHF 1.4214
- GBP/DKK 8.4472
- GBP/NOK 8.938
- GBP/ZAR 11.133
- GBP/JPY 131.93
- EUR/USD 1.4242
Bank of England minutes and Employment data
The minutes of the BoE's May meeting showed an unchanged 6-3 majority seeing no need for an increase in UK interest rates, but two of the hawks, Spencer Dale and Martin Weale, said their decisions were finely balanced.
Also yesterday figures showed the number claiming unemployment benefit unexpectedly rose in April, posting its biggest rise in more than a year.
The news caused Sterling to fall against the Euro, and also to a 6 week low vs the US Dollar. Sentiment remains weak for the Pound, with most analysts expecting further losses should we have any more negative economic data.
Today's Data
Retail Sales is the main UK release today. The ECB president Jean Claude Trichet will give a speech; last time he spoke he caused the Euro to fall by over 1 % so keep a close eye on his comments. The US has some Jobless figures and Home Sales data.
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Labels: BoE Minutes, UK Employment data