Forex Weekly Round Up 28/3/16 – 1/4/16

On Tuesday night Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen emphasised global dangers to growth and inflation, hence the need to proceed “cautiously” on tightening policy. She said global risks were not expected to have a deep impact on the US, but caution was still appropriate. Her tone was similar to the Fed’s mid-March statement, when the central bank made no change to rates.

The dollar fell broadly on Wednesday and is heading for its worst quarter in five years against a basket of currencies, as investors wound back their expectations for US interest rate rises in 2016. The US dollar hit its lowest level against the euro in nearly seven weeks on Wednesday.

The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee warned on Brexit risks to financial stability. The committee said “the most significant near-term domestic risks to financial stability” were connected to the referendum on EU membership on June 23rd.

Thursday saw Sterling start the day well after a positively revised GDP figure came out at 0.6% showing the economy grew at a faster pace than had previously been expected though the current account deficit widened to 32.7B from a previous of 20B.

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Here are the exchange rates taken at 12:43 today. Please note that all conversions are based on interbank rates without any spreads and should be used only as a guide. For live ‘spot’ and ‘forward’ prices please feel free to drop us a line.

GBP/USD 1.4296
GBP/EUR 1.2519
USD/EUR 0.8757