Pound Sterling
The Pound climbed against the Euro and made a second weekly gain against the US Dollar after Bank of England policy maker Martin Weale said that the UK economy will strengthen faster than officials have forecasted. The currency jumped to a two-high against the Dollar as a result. Next week sees the Bank release the minutes for the November policy meeting which is likely to give investors a better picture as to Banks expectations for the economy, speculation has already risen that interest rates will be raised sooner-than-expected.
Currently the Pound is trading in the region of 1.1935 against the Euro and 1.6056 against the US Dollar.
US Dollar
The ‘Greenback’ fell to a two-week low against the Pound and slipped against the Euro on concerns that the US economy is slowing following the release of worse than expected industrial output data. The Dollar fell against higher yielding commodity based currencies as the data increased speculation that the Federal Reserve will refrain from tapering its monetary easing programme.
Currently the US Dollar is trading in the region of 0.6228 against the Pound and 0.7433 against the Euro.
The Euro
The Euro is close to a one-week high against the US Dollar after weak data weighed upon the Dollar. Against the Pound the Euro was softer as concerns as the UK economy powers ahead and as official data from the Eurozone showed that consumer price inflation remained unchanged in October at an annualized rate of 0.7%, in line with expectations.
Currently the Euro is trading in the region of 0.8378 against the Pound and 1.3452 against the US Dollar.
Australian Dollar
The ‘Aussie’ made gains against the Pound and Euro as well as managing to make its first weekly gain against the Japanese Yen in four weeks. The currency rose as investors latched onto comments by Federal Reserve governor nominee Janet Yellen which raised the possibility of the Central Bank’s easing programme continuing for longer than expected.
Currently the Australian Dollar is trading in the region of 0.5805 against the Pound, 0.6929 against the Euro and 0.9321 against the US Dollar.
Canadian Dollar
The ‘Loonie’ initially made gains against the US Dollar but fell after home sales data disappointed and as industrial data from the US showed a potential slowdown in Canada’s biggest trading partner. A gauge of U.S.-Canadian dollar volatility dropped to a three-week low.
Currently the Canadian Dollar is trading in the region of 0.5942 against the Pound, 0.7093 against the Euro and 0.9541 against the US Dollar.