EUR/GBP Rate & Comments for 8th June 2010

EUR/GBP - 1.211

Sterling hit a fresh 18 month high against the euro yesterday and also strengthened against the US dollar. The pound jumped to 1.2176/ £1 as rumours circulated that investors were moving funds from German ‘bunds’ (government bonds) into UK government bonds (also known as ‘gilts’). The move to UK based investments was attributed to fears over the structure of the euro zone as concerns grew even further that the euro will see serious problems over the coming years. Following a poor start to the week due to risk aversion, the pound also rallied against the US dollar as speculation grew that Prudential had not yet finished buying back billions of US dollars worth of sterling following last week’s failed bid to purchase AIG’s Asian insurance arm. The pound jumped 0.6% this morning to hit a high of $1.4560/ £1 before settling above $1.45/£1. David Cameron spoke today about the long road ahead for the UK economy, but there was little in his statement that the markets were not aware of already, as a lot of his ‘revelations’ over incorrect Labour forecasts have been suspected by a number of analysts for many months. Out today, there is consumer confidence data released overnight. Get in touch now for a live exchange rate.

In the Euro zone, the euro hit a 4 year low against the US dollar of $1.1877/ $1 – rapidly approaching the $1.15/ 1 that many analysts have been predicting. The fall was as a result of a statement last week by a Hungarian official who stated that the country had a slim chance of avoiding a Greek style crisis. Despite the fact that Hungary is not part of the single currency, it is a key trading partner for many European countries and poor news impacts the euro significantly. There was a positive bit of data today – German factory orders unexpectedly jumped 2.8% for the month which was a welcome note, but this did little to change the poor sentiment. Out later today, there is a fair amount of ‘low-impact’ data and also German industrial production data. Get in touch now – especially if you are holding Euros and need to move them into another currency, as it could possibly get much worse.

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