The Week Ahead

By Simon Eastman

Last week sterling was yet again volatile as a range of data releases helped then hindered its progress against the major pairings.

Breaking above and holding most of the week above the resistance ceiling on GBP/EUR was looking positive for the Pound following its previous knockback, but alas, as the week came to a close, we had fallen back below.

A spike in UK inflation gave some backbone as markets consider the Bank of England’s next move surrounding interest rates, but nothing really of note came for it, as US inflation way outweighed ours, posting over 5 percent.

Retail sales for the US also showed a positive reading here as for the UK it wasn’t as prettier a picture, so all in all, the Week was won by the greenback as markets now await the Federal Reserves this meeting midweek, followed hot on its tails by the Bank of England’s meeting the following lunchtime.

So going on last weeks battle between GBP and USD results, this week is likely to be just as key. Anyone with a sterling exchange to make might be prudent to look at fixing it ahead of Wednesday, to avoid any possibly volatility over the Central Bank meetings. Speak to one of the team today to discuss the options available for securing your currency, like forward contracts or Limit and Stop Loss Orders. For those with more risk appetite, Thursday is a cascade of major data releases, so one for you to watch for volatility!

For a full rundown of this weeks key releases see below:

Monday

German inflation

Tuesday

Aus RBA meeting minutes, US housing data

Wednesday

Aus Westpac lending index, US Fed Reserve interest rate decision, policy statement and press conference.

Thursday

AUD, German, EU, UK, US services and manufacturing PMI. Bank of England interest rate and asset purchasing decision, policy statement and meeting minutes. US jobless claims, Canadian retail sales and New Zealand trade balance and import/export figures.

Friday

UK GfK consumer confidence survey, German IFO business climate survey and US new homes sales