The Euro firmed against the Pound and managed to reverse some of the losses it suffered yesterday following the ECB’s shock interest rate cut and as France’s sovereign credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s.
The Pound softened against all of its most traded peers after data showed that the UK’s trade deficit widened by its biggest margin in more than a year in the third quarter as imports jumped to a record high.
According to the Office for National Statistics the UK’s trade deficit widened to £9.72 billion from the £5.46 billion recorded in the second quarter of the year. Doubts over the true state of the UK economy surfaced as exports fell by 3.5% whilst imports jumped by 1% to a record high of £135 billion.
The data casts doubt on whether the UK economy has in reality expanded at a faster rate in the third quarter. The country’s economy is thought to have expanded by 0.8% in the third quarter due to an estimate by the ONS. A revised figure is due for release on the 27th of this month and will give a clearer picture as to the true state of the UK recovery.
Also weighing on the Pound was the release of construction data which came in weaker than forecast. On a year by year basis construction output fell from 8.2% to 5.8% in September.
The market’s attention will now be focused on the afternoon’s highly anticipated US jobs data.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 10:20 am GMT
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3422
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8350
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4191
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6124
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4042
The Euro/ Japanese Yen Rate Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 131.7882
The Euro/Swiss Franc Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.2298
The Pound Sterling/ Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1972
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7450
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7044
The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6200
The Canadian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7120
Swiss Franc/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8131