Latest Pound Sterling Forecasts vs the Euro and US Dollar for Today and the Rest of the Week
Friday: The British Pound softened against the Euro and Dollar within the foreign exchange rate markets despite UK Consumer Confidence reaching higher than expected figures.
The sentiment index had resided at -4 in December and managed to recover into positive territory at 1 in January. The UK still has other data scheduled for release on Friday and therefore Pound movement could become more pronounced later in the session.
Thursday: Currency markets awaited the notable FOMC statement for direction on the FED's interest rate hike. The Federal Reserve continued its pledge for patience on raising interest rates in the near-future.
Forex analysts weren't predicting much to rock the currency markets, but the US Dollar did recoup some losses seen over the last two days versus the Euro and British Pound.
A quick foreign exchange market summary before we bring you the rest of the report:
On Thursday the Euro to British Pound exchange rate (EUR/GBP) converts at 0.857
Today finds the pound to euro spot exchange rate priced at 1.167.
FX markets see the pound vs us dollar exchange rate converting at 1.247.
The pound conversion rate (against canadian dollar) is quoted at 1.711 CAD/GBP.
Please note: the FX rates above, updated 25th Apr 2024, will have a commission applied by your typical high street bank. Currency brokers specialise in these type of foreign currency transactions and can save you up to 5% on international payments compared to the banks.
British Pound to Euro Exchange Rate Forecast
The Pound to euro rate put on a patchy performance as the week continued due to the UK’s below forecast quarterly growth data.
The 0.5% expansion in Q4 was less than the 0.6% expected and down from growth of 0.7% in Q3.
The GBP/EUR pairing edged lower after the data was published, although Sterling declines were limited by the fact that the pace of growth across 2014 as a whole was the strongest annual expansion since before the global economic crisis.
That being said, the Euro was modestly supported by bets that Greece won’t be leaving the Eurozone anytime soon.
On Wednesday the Pound managed to eke out modest gains against the Euro thanks to a number of factors.
The common currency came under a little pressure as concerns regarding the Russia-Ukraine situation reared their head again.
According to recent reports, the European Union is pushing for further sanctions to be placed against Russia. Ministers stated; ‘In view of the worsening situation, we ask [foreign ministers] to assess the situation and to consider any appropriate action, in particular on further restrictive measures.’
Germany also published both encouraging and disappointing domestic data.
While the nation’s GfK Consumer Confidence Index climbed, rising beyond the forecast reading of 9.1 to reach 9.3, the German Import Price Index fell by more on both the month and year than expected. The GBP/EUR currency pair was trading in the region of 1.3390 and is likely to remain in this range in the hours ahead.
Pound to Dollar Exchange Rate Forecast
The Pound to Dollar currency pair was able to extend recent gains on Wednesday.
The GBP/USD pairing was able to rally on Tuesday as data for the US fell wildly short of forecasts and reduced the odds of the Federal Reserve adopting a more hawkish stance in its upcoming policy meeting.
The US Durable Goods Orders figure had been expected to print at +0.3 but actually came in at -3.4% on the month in December.
While the US Markit Services PMI showed improvement (rising from 53.3 in December to 54.0 in January) the report highlighted a number of underlying issues in the US economy.
Markit economist Chris Williamson observed; ‘Input costs [...] showed no increase for the first time since 2009, highlighting how lower oil prices are feeding through to the economy and should drive inflation down further in coming months. The surveys [...] send a dovish signal for interest rates, and if official data such as Friday’s GDP report sends similar signs of the economy cooling, expectations of the first rate hikes are likely to get pushed back into late 2015 and even, as we have seen in the UK recently, early 2016.’
The FOMC is scheduled to deliver its ">policy announcement at 19:00 GMT. The tone adopted by policymakers will be responsible for dictating the direction taken by the GBP/USD pairing.
On Thursday the main causes of Pound to Euro rate movement are likely to Germany’s Consumer Price Index and unemployment figures.
The repercussions of the FOMC meeting could extend into tomorrow, but investors with an interest in the GBP/USD currency pair will also be focusing on the US initial jobless/continuing claims and pending home sales reports.