Good morning and welcome today’s market commentary on Thursday the 10th of November.
The EU crisis is getting deeper by the day. Italy’s 10-year sovereign debt yield smashed the 7% barrier yesterday in four days flat, a feat that took 16 days to achieve by Ireland, Portugal and Greece on average. Surprisingly the ECB didn’t come to Italy’s rescue as the country’s borrowing cost reaches the unsustainable mark. The rumored €250 million Italian debt purchase by the ECB was too little to boost market confidence. To worsen the situation further, the political uncertainty in Rome is being seen as the proverbial last nail and the whole of the EU has passed a Rubicon.
Meanwhile reports appeared in the media about France and Germany discussing a smaller and more efficient EU, allowing some members to leave the economic zone. While addressing students in the eastern French city of Strasbourg on Tuesday, President Sarkozy said a two-speed Europe – the Eurozone moving faster than all the 27 countries, was the practical model for the future. A senior European Union official said the possibility of a more integrated and potentially smaller Eurozone has been discussed on an “intellectual” level and there is a need to establish a list of those who don’t want to be part of the club and those who are simply not eligible. However, a French finance ministry spokesman later denied of any plans to reduce the currency bloc’s membership.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned of new tensions if the maps of Europe are redrawn geopolitically. “There cannot be peace and prosperity in the North or in the West of Europe, if there is no peace and prosperity in the South or in the East,” he said in Berlin.
CURRENCY RATES OVERVIEW
GBP/EURO – 1.1761
GBP/US$ – 1.5894
GBP/CHF – 1.4485
GBP/CAN$ – 1.6297
GBP/AUS$ – 1.5778
GBP/ZAR – 12.8150
GBP/JPY – 124.48
GBP/HKD – 12.3939
GBP/NZD – 2.0489
GBP/SEK – 10.6842
If your currency pairing is not listed above and you want to make a currency transfer, check out our comparison tables at www.mycurrencytransfer.com for the best foreign exchange rates.
Euro: The single currency continued to sink on Wednesday as Italy’s debt yield and political uncertainty hit investor confidence. Sterling hit the highest mark against Euro in eight months while the EUR/USD pair sank to 1.3514 in early trading before recovering to about 1.3553. Analysts believe if the single currency breaches the 1.3500 level, intense selling will follow. The JPY also gained against the Euro and the EUR/JPY pair was trading at 105.15 from 105.35 a day before.
USD: The greenback strengthened against the cable yesterday by nearly 1% as investors cut risk and flocked to safe haven. Investors scrambled for US govt. bonds as Italy’s borrowing cost was being seen to have reached at a tipping point and would require a bailout similar to Greece. The GBP/USD traded sharply lower yesterday before clawing back to about 1.5894 yesterday in late afternoon trade.
Elsewhere, the Bank of England is due to announce its monetary policy today with some analysts predicting another round of asset purchase by the central bank.
Have a great day!
