As expected Monday’s trading saw little in the way of volatility. Little economic information was released by the respective national banking institutions giving little rational for traders to amend positions. In addition the usual drivers of the market (investment banks and hedge funds) are generally trading less frequently and in smaller quantities and therefore volume driven swings have been reduced. Pound Sterling Euro exchange rate ended the day at 1.1940 GBP/EUR (-0.02%), Pound Dollar exchange rate at 1.6362 GBP/USD (+0.21%, Pound Canadian Dollar exchange rate at 1.7364 GBP/CAD (-0.02%), Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate at 1.8307 GBP/AUD (+0.03%) and Pound New Zealand Dollar exchange rate at 1.9926 GBP/NZD (+0.03%).
Pound Sterling Exchange Rate Unlikely to Experience Significant Volatility
The only potentially significant data to be released during the day on Tuesday is the French GDP figure which analysts are forecasting to show a reduction -0.1%. Any undershooting of this score is likely to be significant, with the Eurozone’s 2nd largest economy carrying significant weight amongst the market fraternity who will be keen to see signs of economic growth. Whilst some data (Durable Goods and New Home Sales) will be released during the US session it is unlikely to lead to significant volatility for Sterling, since these measure are generally considered 2 tier data releases and by the time the data is release at 13:30pm (UK time) most British investment institutions will have seen their staff leave for the Christmas break.
The US Dollar fell against most of its peers during Monday’s session as speculation that further price rises will not be seen before the New Year prompted traders to close long USD positions. Whilst the recent move by the Federal Reserve to commence tapering of the currency is strongly USD positive, speculators economists expect the currency to take until early 2014 to reflect this change.
Key Pound Sterling Exchange Rates Today (24/12/2013 14:00 GMT
The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar exchange rate is trading up +0.22% at 1.83466 GBP/AUD.
The Pound Sterling to Canadian Dollar exchange rate is trading up +0.05% at 1.73669 GBP/CAD.
The Pound Sterling to Euro exchange rate is trading up +0.25% at 1.19659 GBP/EUR.
The Pound Sterling to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate is trading up +0.37% at 2.00224 GBP/NZD.
The Pound Sterling to US Dollar exchange rate is trading up +0.1% at 1.63655 GBP/USD.