Pound Sterling falls further against US Dollar while US NFP takes centre stage
The Pound Sterling (GBP) extends the decline for the third consecutive day against the US Dollar (USD), trading near 1.3450 during the European trading session on Thursday. The GBP/USD pair is under pressure as the US Dollar trades firmly, following the release of an unexpectedly strong United States (US) ISM Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for December.
At press time, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades close to the four-week high of 98.86 posted on Monday. Read more…
GBP: Pound surges amid hints at EU rapprochement – Commerzbank
For several months now, a topic that had been somewhat overshadowed in recent years by episodes of increased inflation and recurring concerns about growth and public finances has resurfaced in British politics: Brexit. Around last summer, Labour politicians increasingly emphasized that the long-term effects of Brexit would worsen the public finance and growth problems. This increased focus on the issue came as something of a surprise at the time, given that Labour had previously been keen to ignore Brexit, Commerzbank’s FX analyst Michael Pfister notes.
“On Monday, the pound significantly appreciated against both the US dollar and the euro, despite third-tier data providing little reason for this. While the depreciation of both the euro and the US dollar certainly helped on Monday, the pound also appreciated idiosyncratically. Apart from data or any major news, one of the few arguments for such an appreciation is the British Prime Minister’s statements over the weekend. He emphasized that the United Kingdom wanted to focus on a ‘closer relationship’ to the EU and turned his attention to the single market after a cautious rapprochement with the EU in recent months.” Read more…
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Larisa Catt