Pound Sterling
The Pound fell against the Euro to trade below the 1.19 mark as comments made by Bank of England policy Marin Weale weighed heavily upon the currency. Mr. Weale warned that inflation in the UK has fallen sharply since the summer and hinted that the Bank’s monetary stimulus programme could be maintained longer than expected. Investors also said that the currency’s recent gains were ‘overdone’.
Currently the Pound is trading in the region of 1.1868 against the Euro and 1.6364 against the US Dollar.
US Dollar
The ‘Greenback’ remains close to a six-week low against the Euro as uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will taper its monetary easing programme at next week’s policy meeting weighed upon the Dollar. The currency found some support after US leaders reached a budget deal that will hopefully avoid a repeat of the fiscal impasse that occurred earlier in the year.
Currently the US Dollar is trading in the region of 0.6110 against the Pound and 0.7252 against the Euro.
The Euro
The Euro made gains against the Pound and US Dollar after EU finance ministers came closer to reaching an agreement on European Banking Union. The single currency continued to find support from last week’s decision by the ECB to not introduce negative rates or monetary easing measures.
Currently the Euro is trading in the region of 0.8426 against the Pound and 1.3789 against the US Dollar.
Australian Dollar
The ‘Aussie’ halted its gains and resumed its downward movement against the Pound due to growing expectations that tomorrow’s unemployment data will show that the number of Australians out of work will rise to match a 2009 high. The overall unemployment rate is expected to have risen to 5.8% in November.
Currently the Australian Dollar is trading in the region of 0.5535 against the Pound, 0.6569 against the Euro and 0.9058 against the US Dollar.
Canadian Dollar
The Canadian Dollar strengthened for a second day against the US Dollar as commodity prices continued to climb. Against the Euro the ‘Loonie’ remained softer as the single currency found support from expectations that the ECB will not introduce any new monetary easing measures.
Currently the Canadian Dollar is trading in the region of 0.5760 against the Pound, 0.6836 against the Euro and 0.9426 against the US Dollar.
