Good morning and welcome to today’s foreign exchange market commentary on Monday, the 10th of December.
CURRENCY RATES OVERVIEW
GBP/EURO – 1.2412
GBP/US$ – 1.6023
GBP/CHF – 1.4976
GBP/CAN$ – 1.5824
GBP/AUS$ – 1.5278
GBP/ZAR – 13.8792
GBP/JPY – 132.95
GBP/HKD – 12.4188
GBP/NZD – 1.9218
GBP/SEK – 10.7141
EUR: Euro continued with its recent weakness on Friday and fell to its lowest level in two weeks against the US dollar after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said he has lost majority support in parliament and intends to resign soon. Speculations of a rate cut by the European Central Bank and news that German industrial production has contracted more than expected, output shrunk by 2.6 percent, didn’t help the single currency’s cause either and the EUR/USD pair finished at 1.2877, the lowest level since Nov 23. The European economic summit scheduled to start this week where heads of states will meet to discuss the proposed banking union will remain in focus. The EUR/USD pair is trading around 1.2909 this morning.
USD: Cable remains flat against the US dollar today after losing ground on Friday following rumours of the UK losing its much coveted AAA rating soon. Furthermore, data released on Friday showed the US economy added more jobs than expected while the unemployment rate dropped more than estimated to a near four year low, lifting the US unit against most of its global peers. Cable traded in a narrow range on Friday after Finance Minister George Osborne said Britain will miss its deficit reduction target, making the markets jittery. Unemployment data in the UK will be in focus this week and the change in unemployment claims number will be keenly followed. The GBP/USD pair opens at 1.6026 while BoE Governor Mervyn King makes his statement today.
Have a great day!
