- EUR USD rate trends at 1.06 – EUR GBP trading at 0.86
- ECB leaves interest rates on hold – President Draghi asks for patience
- US Dollar soft before momentous Trump inauguration – Pound recovers after high drama on first PM speech
The Euro has made a fractional advance against the US Dollar today, but has conversely slipped against the Pound.
This movement follows Thursday’s European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decision and press conference; the interest rate was left at 0% as expected, but Draghi largely proved a reassuring influence for the assembled press when discussing future policy directions.
The US Dollar has been tight today, in the calm before the storm of Donald Trump’s inauguration as US President. Domestic data out of the US has shows a smaller-than-expected rise in US continuing and initial jobless claims in early January, though the Trump event has overshadowed any possible positive movement.
After Tuesday’s soaring highs and Wednesday’s crushing lows, the Pound has been a stable currency overall today, rising after PM Theresa May elaborated on her prior remarks while at Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF).
May’s comments were largely repeats from Tuesday, though she did once again emphasise the desire to reach a mutually beneficial agreement when parting with the European Union.
(Last updated January 19th, 2017)
The Euro has advanced by 0.5% against the Pound today, though against the US Dollar, a slight loss has been recorded. Recent Eurozone news to speak of has been that German inflation in December was revised up in its finalised form. In the near-future, further Eurozone-wide inflation figures are due, which are expected to show rises in December.
The US Dollar has started on the road to recovery today, having been devalued by massive profit-taking during Tuesday’s trading session. Recently, Fed official John Williams has supported a gradual pattern of US interest rate hikes; Fed Chair Janet Yellen is set to speak tonight and could prompt further USD movement.
The Pound has been on a rollercoaster ride over the past 24 hours, having risen before Theresa May’s speech on Tuesday then rallied after it was announced that the UK would be leaving the EU single market, but that Parliament would be able to vote on the final Brexit deal.
Since then, the Pound has crashed on all-around profit-taking, while the near-term may bring further volatility with December and November’s UK jobs stats.
(Last updated January 18th, 2017)
The US Dollar has crashed against peers, while the Pound has been relatively firm before a vital Brexit speech from Prime Minister Theresa May.
EUR USD, EUR GBP Exchange Rates Influenced by French and Italian Balance Stats Today
The Euro has been able to record a 0.5% rise against the US Dollar today, but has conversely seen a slight dip against the Pound.
This comes on a relatively slow data day for the Eurozone; the only news out so far is that France has seen a shift from -85.5bn to -69bn for its November budget balance, while Italy’s trade surplus has ticked down from 4.3bn to 4.2bn in the same month.
Investors in the Euro have remained on edge this week, with the coming of the first ECB interest rate decision of the year on Thursday leaving uncertainty a major factor in the Euro’s value.
Additional Eurozone news out today has seen ZEW economic sentiment indexes rise in January for Germany and the overall Eurozone.
US Dollar Dive and Pound Sterling Advance come on Profit-Taking, Incoming Brexit Speech
Demand for the US Dollar has been extremely low so far today, with USD EUR dropping by -0.6% and USD GBP by -1%.
The US Dollar actually rose notably over Monday’s trading session, but has since dropped off due to excess profit-taking by investors.
The Pound has been surprisingly high against the Euro and the US Dollar today, despite the impending speech from the Prime Minister which is set to lay down the official Government stance on Brexit.
GBP support today has come from UK inflation rate figures, which have prompted Sterling to rally after climbing above forecasts on the month and the year. The data has once-again got investors hoping the Bank of England (BoE) may be forced to raise interest rates to control overheating price growth.
Future EUR USD GBP Forecast: PM May to Speak before Noon, High Pound Volatility Likely
The next big announcement to arrive will be Theresa May’s much-anticipated Brexit speech, which is due just before midday.
Although investors and economists have been pricing in what the PM will say, a final confirmation that EU single market access will not be aimed for could still send the Pound crashing down against the Euro and US Dollar.
For the Euro, Wednesday morning’s Eurozone-wide inflation rate stats are expected to show gains on the month and the year, while today’s US news will consist of three Federal Reserve speeches, from officials William Dudley, Lael Brainard and John Williams.
Current Interbank Exchange Rates
At the time of writing, 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 today.
The Euro Pound Sterling (EUR GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.87 and the Pound Euro (GBP EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.13 today.
The US Dollar Pound (USD GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.82 and the Pound US Dollar (GBP USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.21 today.
