The Pound Euro and Pound US Dollar exchange rates have risen notably today, on the news that the Bank of England (BoE) may revise up its UK economic forecasts for 2017.
- GBP EUR rate rises to 1.15 – GBP USD rate jumps from 1.21 to 1.23
- Pound demand increases on BoE Governor comments – Concern caused by World Bank forecast downgrade
- Euro uncertainty remains despite rising German GDP – US Dollar nosedives after uncomfortable Trump conference
- Eurozone meeting details released later – Four Fed speeches due this afternoon
The Euro has been a divisive option among investors today, while US Dollar demand has plummeted after a controversy-laden press conference by President-Elect Donald Trump.
UK Economic News: GBP EUR and GBP USD Appreciation Follows BoE’s Carney Backtrack
The Pound has fared well today, despite a lack of UK data to provide support, rising against its peers due to an apparent change of heart by the Bank of England (BoE) on Wednesday.
BoE Governor Mark Carney was speaking to the Treasury Select Committee and notably admitted that;
‘I would say, and I’ll say this very lightly, which is that recent data would be consistent with some further upgrade of the [UK economic] forecast but that process has not yet started’.
Despite the caution evident in Carney’s statement, investors have clearly been highly optimistic about the news, which has brought a small advance against the Euro as well as a 0.5% rise against the US Dollar.
On the negative side, the World Bank cut its forecast for UK growth, though this failed to limit Sterling gains given the overriding investor optimism.
Euro Interest Unsettled by Varied German Stats, US Dollar Crumbles after Trump Conference
The Euro has advanced by 0.4% against the US Dollar today, though a -0.2% drop against the Pound has also been recorded.
Germany has contributed the latest high-impact Eurozone news, having put out its full-year GDP figure and government budget for 2016.
In the former case, a rise from 1.7% to 1.9% has been recorded, though in the latter, a less supportive dip from 0.7% to 0.6% has been seen.
For the US Dollar, the morning after Trump’s pre-inauguration press conference has seen the US currency in a bad way, with major losses coming after it was clear that none of Trump’s controversial election attitude had gone away.
As well as offering contradictory statements about whether Russia was a political friend or foe, much of the conference was mired by Trump’s dubious method of avoiding a business conflict of interest, which would see his assets signed off to his sons.
Trump also had to contend with accusations of sexual depravity that stemmed from a recently leaked document, the veracity of which remains unknown.
Future GBP EUR USD Forecast: Friday BoE Speech could Firm Support for Forecast Upgrade
The next UK economic development to watch out for will come on Friday, when Bank of England (BoE) official Michael Saunders gives a speech in the morning.
From the Eurozone, the early afternoon today will see the European Central Bank (ECB) releases its monetary policy meeting accounts, which could identify how future ECB policies play out.
US output today will come mainly from the Fed, as officials Patrick Harker, Charles Evans, Dennis Lockhart and James Bullard are all due to give statements this afternoon.
Current GBP EUR, GBP USD Interbank Exchange Rates
At the time of writing, the Pound Euro (GBP EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.15 and the Euro Pound (EUR GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.86.
The Pound US Dollar (GBP USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.23 and the US Dollar Pound (USD GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.81.
The Euro US Dollar (EUR USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.06 and the US Dollar Euro (USD EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.93.
