Sterling Jumps Again as Markets Focus on Central Bank Speculations and Developments

Published: 22 Jan at 1 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, France,

Pound Sterling (GBP)
Following the Pound’s rebound on stronger than expected UK job stats yesterday, the Pound continued to advance today. Bank of England (BoE) interest rate cut speculation continued to soften as the day’s UK data from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) also beat forecasts.

No notable UK data will be published tomorrow. Instead, the Pound’s movement may become steady as investors eagerly await Friday’s UK PMI projections from Markit.


Euro (EUR)
Anticipation for tomorrow’s European Central Bank (ECB) policy decision is keeping investors from moving too much on the Euro today. Yesterday’s ZEW sentiment survey data gave the Euro some support but today’s French business confidence data was weaker than expected.

The ECB is not expected to make any changes to monetary policy tomorrow. Instead, investors will be paying close attention to any shifts in stance the bank takes on the Eurozone outlook.


US Dollar (USD)
The US Dollar’s movement has been a little more mixed in recent sessions. A lack of fresh supportive US data, combined with market speculation that the global growth outlook is improving, is keeping the currency from seeing fresh advances.

The US economic calendar will remain fairly low influence until PMI projections are published at the end of the week. These will give investors a better idea of how the US economy is performing.


Australian Dollar (AUD)
The Australian Dollar continues to fall today, as a combination of global and domestic concerns weigh heavily. Investors are anxious about trade due to a coronavirus spreading in China. Domestically, the Australian Dollar is being weighed by bushfire concerns and today’s disappointing Australian consumer confidence data.

Tomorrow will see the publication of this week’s most influential Australian data. If Australian job stats disappoint, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate cut bets will rise and AUD will see fresh weakness.


New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
Next to the Pound, the New Zealand is one of today’s better performing major currencies. Unlike the Australian Dollar it is not being hit heavily by global trade jitters, so is benefitting from market hopes that the global growth outlook is overall improving.

New Zealand Dollar investors are anticipating Friday’s New Zealand inflation rate results. If these surprise investors they could influence Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) policy speculation.


Canadian Dollar (CAD)
The Canadian Dollar has held steady today so far, as investors highly anticipate upcoming Canadian data and the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) January policy decision.

Canadian Dollar investors will be reacting to the outcome of Canada’s inflation results and Bank of Canada news this evening through tomorrow, but will also anticipate Friday’s Canadian retail sales results.
As of Wednesday, 22nd January 2020, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.1847, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.3143, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.921, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.9932, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.7268, and GBP CNY exchange rate was 9.0776.

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