The Pound Sterling (GBP) has made movement in a clearly negative direction against the Euro (EUR) today, having fallen by -0.7%. This is mainly on account of the Eurozone Consumer Confidence score for December improving marginally by moving from -5.9 to -5.7.
UK Confidence Figure to Come Tomorrow Morning ahead of Later Borrowing Data
The next input into the GBP/EUR exchange rate is likely to come from the December Gfk UK Consumer Confidence Survey; similarly to the prior Eurozone data, forecasts have been for a stagnation of 1 point respectively.
Earlier…
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate has risen marginally today, although other gains and losses for the Pound (GBP) have been somewhat more definite in their values.
GBP/EUR Exchange Rate News: UK Government under Fire over Steel Mill Closures, Referendum Date Set?
The Pound Sterling (GBP) has advanced by a minor amount against the Euro (GBP/EUR) today, while elsewhere, the Pound’s gains have included 0.3% against the Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD), 0.4% against the Swiss Franc (GBP/CHF), 0.5% against the Norwegian Krone (GBP/NOK) and 0.7% against the Russian Ruble (GBP/RUB). In terms of losses, the largest one recorded for the UK currency has been by -0.4% against the Mexican Peso (GBP/MXN). This performance is largely an improvement on Friday’s exchange rate movement, when Sterling was devalued by apparent UK-EU interference.
The current factors affecting the Pound Sterling’s value include the accusation by an MP select committee that the UK government largely ignored ‘warning bells sounded by the UK steel industry’ and was oblivious to ‘mounting problems’ in the sector; these problems culminated in this year’s closure of the Redcar steel works and the cutting of 1200 jobs by Tata Steel.
In potentially more positive news, the UK-EU Referendum process received a massive timeline adjustment with PM David Cameron ostensibly hinting at June or July in 2016 for the actual vote date, although critics have argued that this will not provide enough time to reach an agreement with the other members of the European Union.
Euro (EUR) Hobbled by Spanish Electoral Uncertainty Today, along with Disappointing German Data
The Euro (EUR) is currently downtrending overall, with a narrow negative trending against the Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) being the least of the common currency’s worries. Among the other losses for the Euro have been -0.3% against the New Zealand Dollar (EUR/NZD) and -0.5% against the South African Rand (EUR/ZAR), although a gain of 0.4% against the Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD) has also been seen.
Spain has been a detracting factor for the Euro’s overall value today, as the nation is currently in turmoil following the failure for any one party to gain a controlling majority. As it stands, the issue can only be settled by a coalition, but given that all four major parties are almost diametrically opposed to each other, the possibility of reaching a satisfactory resolution seems somewhat improbable at present.
The other negative factor has been Germany’s Producer Prices for November, which have printed negative figures both on the month and the year.
GBP/EUR Exchange Rate Forecast: Bundesbank Report and CBI Sales Figures due Imminently
Both the UK and the Eurozone will have impactful economic releases out in the near future, with both being released at the same time.
For the UK, input into the GBP/EUR pairing will be had when the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Reported Sales figures for December are released; at the time of writing, forecasts were highly positive with a predicted rise from 7 to 21 being on the cards.
The Eurozone will bring a monthly report from Germany’s Bundesbank to the table, which may initiate movement if it happens to be excessively dovish or hawkish in its tone.
Current GBP, EUR Exchange Rates
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.3723 and the Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.7288 today.
