Pound slightly higher following yesterday’s Budget on UK Growth but US Dollar was the big mover on a day that promised so much more for the pound.
Good morning,
The pound, the best performing currency in the past year, strengthened after the Bank of England said further gains are possible as Britain’s economy expands amid falling unemployment.
The pound rose against the euro after yesterdays unemployment report showed Britain’s unemployment rate held at 7.2 percent in the three months through January, while wage growth accelerated.
Sterling climbed against all of its 16 major peers as the government presented higher growth forecasts during yesterdays budget.
The big mover of the day was the US dollar! It strengthened for a second day against both the euro and the pound after the Federal Reserve policy makers signaled they will probably raise interest rates by the middle of next year.
The US Dollar gained 100 points against sterling shortly after 6pm GMT following the Fed announcement.
So everything seems to be pointing to a UK recovery with unemployment lower, wages higher, house prices on the up and growth running at a faster pace than any other economy in the world!
But still the pound to euros exchange rate struggles against the Euro!
We may continue to not get as many euro’s for our pounds but for now at least we can enjoy cheap booze and a game of Bingo.
AFTERNOON MARKET Exchange RATES:
GBPEUR 1.1986
GBPUSD 1.6512
EURUSD 1.3773
GBPSEK 10.608
GBPZAR 18.055
GBPAUD 1.8312
GBPCHF 1.4618