Pound falls further amid retail worries

Sterling had another bad day yesterday, losing around a cent against both the Euro and US dollar, as a CBI survey showed that retailers are suffering a worse than expected Christmas period, and hopes for January sales are at their lowest since May 2012.

With little other important news out, except better-than-expected Eurozone consumer confidence, the Pound suffered across the board, also losing ground against the New Zealand and Australian dollars and Swiss Franc. The price of a Euro is now over 4% more than a month ago.

Whether sterling continues to fall further in the short term is likely to depend on today’s GfK consumer confidence figures, and public borrowing results, announced this morning; and with tomorrow’s GDP figures the last major UK data before the Christmas break, time is short for those of you hoping for a dramatic reversal of fortune before sending money overseas.

Exchange rates still good value
As we near the end of 2015, it’s worth remembering for both Euros and Dollars that we are only just below the average rates for the year, in what has been a strong year for sterling. After the Swiss exchange rate cap removal, Greek debt crisis, UK election and referendum plans, it has been an extremely volatile year for exchange rates.

                      Mid market now             Average 2015             High       Low

GBP-EUR           1.3635                         1.3780                     1.4407     1.2736

GBP-USD           1.4883                         1.5287                     1.5879     1.4634

Other currency news today
This afternoon sees the release of US GDP (economic growth) for the third quarter (1.30pm) and New Zealand trade balance (9.45pm). Now that the Federal Reserve have raised interest rates in the USA, a strong GDP reading would be likely to send the US dollar higher in price again. German consumer confidence was also released at 7am.