USD/GBP Rate & Comments for 20th September 2010

USD/GBP - 1.564

Sterling slipped against the US dollar on Friday, coming off an earlier 5 week high of $1.5730/£1 but holding firm above the $1.56/£1 level. A lack of UK data on Friday left sterling at the mercy of movements in other currencies and as concerns over Euro zone sovereign debt resurfaced, riskier currencies came under renewed pressure. In the last few weeks, huge swings between positive and negative sentiment mean that sterling is generally tracking the movements between euro and US dollar. It is a relatively quiet day on the economic calendar with the key data being the August mortgage approvals figure. The figure is expected to come in at just under 50,000 – historically a figure that does not correlate with a sustained house price boom. A lot of data points to further slowing in the sector. Later in the week, there is public sector lending figures and the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee’s minutes from their recent meeting. Ensure you are protected over the coming weeks by speaking to a trader today.

In the USA, the US dollar has been under significant pressure over the weekend and in Asian trading today ahead of a busy week of data. The key area of concern for many is Tuesday’s Federal Reserve meeting in which many are expecting the Fed to start printing money again after stubbornly high unemployment figures and a run of poor data. The idea was raised at last month’s policy meeting and could be implemented this week. Housing data is the only real data released today, so call in ahead of tomorrow’s meeting to ensure you are covered.

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