This morning FX markets are fairly quiet awaiting the key US employment figures at 13:30.

Yesterday the Bank of England held rates at 0.5% as well as holding the quantitative easing programme at £200 billion. Cable was quick to attempt to break to the upside but was rejected at the previous day’s high as traders took advantage of the spike. The market was quickly reminded that although the UK economy has returned to growth recessionary pressures remain.

The minutes of the meeting which are due to be released in two weeks time will be watched closely.

The Euro looks fairly stable this morning with Greece jitters easing, the single currency is trading inside the previous day’s range against both the US dollar and Sterling.

As the European Central Bank and Bank of England have now released their figures which were in line with expectations, the focus will move over to the US. There is risk of a potential disappointment, the FX markets look to have adjusted to a more cautious forecast.

Friday 05 March 2010, 12:18pm

Last week’s cable low of 1.5534 has held firm, since then sterling has spent most of its time trading sideways against the US dollar. Today the pound has traded up to 1.5815 where it encountered some short term resistance. It is possible we may see dollar buying continue from these levels. Position traders will be looking to sell into short term cable rallies.

Investor are beginning to look to cover shorts on Euro positions as concerns over Greece are beginning to cool, it would not be surprising to see a short to medium term bounce from these levels. It is possible that the Euro’s heavy sell-off over recent weeks may have gone too far too soon. Clearly the longer term trend is down, structural problems still persist and investors will look to re-establish Euro shorts and higher prices.

Wednesday 17 February 2010, 03:57pm

The US dollar has been the currency of choice in recent weeks. Traders have been aggressively selling Euro/dollar from its over bought levels. The chaos in the Euro Zone continues and until Greece gets bailed out the path of least resistance for the Euro is down.

The US dollar buying has also pressurised Sterling, pushing cable through the October low of 1.5706 last week. Cable found support at 1.5534 on Monday and the pound rallied to the 1.5760 region. The selling has continued today and the pound is currently trading back at 1.5574 against the dollar. A break of 1.5534 should see a swift move to 1.5480 where it is expected sterling will be supported in the short term. At this stage we cannot rule out a potential 50% retracement of the longer term wave up from the 1.35 low to the August high of 1.7042.

Against the Euro, Sterling encountered some resistance last week at the 1.1625 level, the 78.6% retracement from the June high to the October low. Analysts expect the pound to retest the 1.12 level before any potential further upside. The 1.12-1.13 region is now a strong support level for the pound.

Wednesday 10 February 2010, 03:49pm

A weak start to the day for sterling, as traders pushed cable down towards the 1.58 level expecting the bank of England to disappoint currency markets. However, the central bank announced a pause in their quantitative easing programme, holding the budget at £200 million. Sterling spiked on the news, traders sold into the pound, this afternoon the selling has continued and sterling is currently trading at the day’s lows. Until recessionary pressures ease we are unlikely to see the bank unwinding stimulus measures, they have left open the option of further monetary easing.

The European central bank kept rates at 1%. Trichet said that he is confident Greece can get its budget deficit under control and signalled officials have no plans to raise key interest rates from record lows of 1%.

Thursday 04 February 2010, 03:45pm

The US Federal Reserve signalled yesterday that the economic recovery was gathering strength as it kept rates near zero. The FOMC adopted a general more positive tone in its policy statement. Stock markets rallied and investors are diving back into sterling as risk appetite increases. The inverse correlation between risk appetite and the US dollar is hard to miss in this environment.

The Euro has continued to weaken against other major currencies, against the US dollar the single currency has been pushed back below the 1.4 level. The Euro has also felt the pressure against the pound with Sterling-Euro trading at 1.16 this morning.

The pound has also rallied against the US dollar and looks likely to break out of the sideways range formed over the recent days. The first significant resistance level dollar bulls are expected to defend will be around 1.6310-1.6325.

A clean break above 1.64 will imply further medium term dollar weakness potentially driving cable to the 1.6650 region.

Thursday 28 January 2010, 11:55am

A strong open to the week for sterling as the pound climbs to a six-week high against the US dollar as well as building on its recent rally against the single currency.Comments by Goldman Sachs indicating that the UK is expected to grow faster than other major economies have also been supporting the pound.

It's been a good start to the year for the pound retracing some of its pre Christmas losses against the US dollar. Although it appears that the UK’s economic position is improving, analysts attribute some of the gains to weakness in its trading counterparts, primarily concerns of the economic structure in Greece and general US dollar weakness.

The recent Euro weakness is primarily the result of the Greek national debt crisis. Any decisions made by the ECB will be closely watched by other countries under pressure in the Euro-zone.

Tuesday 19 January 2010, 12:41pm

Since the beginning of June 2009, the pound has been trading in a longer-term range against the US dollar. The 1.6750-1.7000 region has proved to be fairly strong resistance, on the downside the 1.58 level has supported sterling and continues to do so.

An interesting start to the year for sterling, cable opened at 1.6138 and an initial sell off in the opening week pushed cable down to 1.59 where traders supported sterling. Currently, trading back above 1.6250 and looking firm.

The support for sterling has been the result of various economic and fundamental data, more recently policy maker Andrew Sentance has been quoted as saying interest rates may have to increase this year. Analysts believe the comments from the policy maker are a bit premature but markets have seen this as another opportunity to continue to lift sterling.

The pound has now been rallying for the fourth consecutive day against the US dollar.

2009 was a fairly steady year for GBP/EUR many analysts predicted a final quarter rally for the pound against the single currency, but this move failed to materialise. The cross spent most of the year flirting around the 1.11 level. There were a few attempts to break below the 1.05-1.06 region throughout the year but the pound was supported on each occasion.

After a weak open to the year for GBP/EUR, the cross is failing to find any real direction. A small range has been formed between 1.1076-1.1217. Currently, trading at 1.1173.

Wednesday 13 January 2010, 12:44pm

We often manage to bring you the euro best exchange rate on our travel money card. Check today's rate below:

Euro Best Exchange Rate Policies

Although no company can completely guarantee that they offer euro best exchange rate, we're confident that you'll see that we offer market-leading currency exchange rates.

Wednesday 02 December 2009, 04:18pm

Tags: best, euro, exchange, rate

A poor finish for Sterling last week, the pound was sold against the Euro and US dollar. The UK economy continues to look fragile against the main players across the globe. Last week GBP/EUR traded above 1.13 before finishing the week near its lows at 1.11. A similar move in cable where the market traded at a high of 1.6878 on Monday before being sold back below 1.65

Yesterday in an interview with the Dow Jones, Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis President James Bullard commented that he would prefer to keep the central bank’s asset purchase programme active for an extended period keeping US interest rates low. This morning the US dollar is under pressure on the back of the weekend comments. James Bullard will be a voting member next year. These comments are another nail in the coffin for the US dollars whilst higher yielding currencies continue to prosper. In addition, the surging gold price is certainly not a good indicator for a greenback recovery.

EURO/USD is still trading below the October high of1.5063, this is a key level for FX traders particularly dollar bulls who are looking for this level to hold.

Monday 23 November 2009, 12:15pm

Looking ahead this week, the minutes of the Bank of England November meeting and UK inflation data will give some insight on short term sterling trend. The MPC minutes are due to be released on Wednesday and will give financial markets some indication of sentiment among committee members. If the consensus was that more Quantitative easing was favoured, this may increase the pressure on sterling.

Recent surveys have shown that business confidence fell for a second straight month in October, credit conditions still remain tight. House prices dipped in the first half of November. The UK economy is likely to have a “wavering” and unsteady path to recovery.

Traders will also be watching EUR/USD very closely this week, after making a good attempt to break above this year’s high last week the pair failed at 1.5050. The Euro was quickly pushed back towards 1.48 before finishing the week at 1.49. This move is fairly significant, given the current sentiment of the Euro positioned in severely overbought territory. From a technical perspective the Euro is a better sell at these levels. For now the 1.5063 level is key resistance, it is possible the pair is setting up a reversal pattern.

Monday 16 November 2009, 12:19pm