With no major economic data out of the UK today, movement in sterling was largely influenced by data from elsewhere. After a strong performance the day before, sterling continued to hold its strong position against both the US dollar and the euro throughout the morning. Poor data from the US during the afternoon showed that growth in the US economy had missed its target over the past quarter. This resulted in sterling strengthening further against the dollar, setting fresh four-and-a-half-year highs. Performance against the euro was more measured and, with core inflation increasing slightly throughout the Eurozone throughout the past month, sterling failed to make further gains against the single currency. Today sees the release of the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from the manufacturing industry; despite declining throughout 2014, this is expected to increase slightly and may prompt further sterling strength.
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