Forex Weekly Round Up 12 January 2015 – 16 January 2015

Here is our market summary for the week commencing 12 January 2015.

UK manufacturing output rose the most in November, even though total industrial production was down due to maintenance at some North Sea oil fields.

Also in the UK, the supermarket price wars were in full swing. A petrol station in the Midlands became the first in the country to charge less than £1 for a litre of petrol. The lowest price since 2009.

The Pound climbed for a sixth day against the Euro and reached its strongest level in six years on Thursday. The Swiss National Bank scrapped its currency ceiling and cut their interest rates down to -0.75%. On this news, the Swiss Franc gained 27% and 28% against the Euro and US Dollar respectively.

Over in the US, a rise in employment in December marked the end of the best year for the labour market since 1999. 252,000 jobs added in December followed a 353,000 rise in November, which was higher than expected.

The main talking point in Europe was Greece. Greek bonds rallied after the country’s Prime Minister promised to ease Greek austerity in an attempt to win votes.

The World Bank reduced its growth forecast for the Eurozone to 1.1% in 2015. It also called for more quantitive easing to stimulate the economy. In addition, the European Court of Justice stated that the European Central Bank’s Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) programme appears to be legal, as long as certain conditions are met. The OMT programme is designed to help a struggling Eurozone member state by reducing its borrowing costs.