Forex Weekly Round Up 23/5/16 – 26/5/16

On Monday the Pound slipped after gaining over 1% against the dollar last week as investors, still worried that a looming June 23 referendum could see Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, moved away from riskier assets.

However, Sterling made gains on Wednesday against all major currency pairs amid signs that the campaign to keep Britain in the European Union is gaining strength.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney defended his decision to flag the risks of leaving the EU, hitting back at one of his toughest critics of trying to undermine the Bank. Carney said the outcome of the June 23 referendum could require the BoE to reassess how it sets interest rates, something it needed to explain to businesses and households.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany has declined slightly in May 2016. The index has decreased by 4.8 points compared to the previous month, now standing at 6.4 points.

Weak service sector growth persisted in the US as Markit Services PMI figures were released, which came out at 51.2, below the consensus of 53.1, which was predicted. The release also stated that business optimism eased to its lowest levels for over six and a half years.

Here are the exchange rates taken at 12:15 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 1.4691
GBP/EUR 1.3138
USD/EUR 0.8943