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Apr 9
Forex Focus: We’re in a world full of strong dollars
Canada
In the same way that New Zealand is often in sync with Australia, Canada is closely aligned to its American neighbour, though its banks avoided the toxic debt traps seen on Wall Street in 2008.
“It’s no surprise that the CAD has continued to strengthen with arguably the most robust banking system in the world as well as being a petrol exporter,” says Stephen Hughes, director of Currencies.co.uk.
“We may see some claw back, however I think it will remain strong for some time to come.”
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Mar 26
Forex Space – GBP/EUR: Sterling Boost on the back of Cyprus Crisis
The closure of the Cypriot banks has caused major public unrest and has led to a huge loss of confidence for the Eurozone and the Euro. As a result we have seen GBP/EUR exchange rates push up to some of the higher levels we have seen for some time, meaning there are some excellent opportunities for consumers looking to buy Euros.
We recommend speaking to an expert sooner rather than later if you looking at the Euro as it is still a volatile environment.
Stephen Hughes, director of Currencies.co.uk
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Mar 21
Forex Space – GBP/USD More Sterling Woe Ahead for UK Travellers
The pound may be experiencing something of a fillip thanks to yesterday’s sanguine budget announcement, but the pain looks set to continue for GBP bulls, not to mention UK citizens keen to get out of the country.
Sterling advanced against most other majors Wednesday afternoon [see: GBP/USD chart], as the Chancellor George Osborne delivered his annual budget and said that the government will keep the Bank of England’s 2 percent target inflation rate and that public sector net debt will fall by 2017/18. But Osborne also conceded that the economic growth forecast will fall to 0.6 percent this year and the pound wobbled over the increased likelihood of a triple-dip recession this quarter.
Gains have broadly been clung onto so far in Thursday trading, with the pound up 0.65 percent against the dollar and 0.82 percent against the single currency. The expectation from many analysts, however, is for further declines over the coming quarter.
“The UK’s financial landscape was unveiled in in yesterday’s Budget”, said Stephen Hughes, director of Currencies.co.uk. “The Chancellor revealed the government has halved growth targets and a fall in debt will now be delayed for two years. As a result we expect sterling to continue to weaken, having a negative impact on consumers travelling and spending money abroad.
“With these uncertain times for currency markets we recommend speaking to an expert to ensure you obtain the best rates possible.”
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Mar 21
Steel First Website
UK delivered domestic scrap prices rose for March delivery because of rising international prices.The rise in UK prices came around the time Turkish delivered scrap reached a seven-week high.
Turkish delivered prices have since slipped to lower levels. The UK was the second-largest scrap exporter to Turkey in January, providing 294,270 tonnes, according to the Turkish statistical institute (TUIK).
On the UK domestic market for cut grades, OA plate and structural (P&S) was assessed at £217-235 ($328-355) per tonne on Friday March 15, up from £209-225 per tonne the previous month.
Turkey recently bought bonus grade scrap from a northern European scrap merchant at $415 per tonne cfr. Bonus grade is the same standard as P&S, according to market sources. UK domestic 1&2 old steel was assessed at £203-223 per tonne. The price of HMS 1&2 (80:20) delivered cfr into Turkey has ranged from $388-402 per tonne so far in March.
New production heavy and shovellable steel 12A/C/D was assessed in a £206-227 per tonne range, up from £198-217 per tonne. Higher demand for containerised shredded scrap on the international market also supported prices, sources said.
Loose old light 5C scrap, which is feed for shredding machines, closed at £145-158 per tonne, up from £145-155 the previous week.Sterling weakness
The weakness of sterling against the dollar also supported domestic prices, according to market sources.“The value of [the UK pound] has plummeted since the start of the year, most notably against the US dollar and the euro,” Stephen Hughes, director of conversion website Currencies.co.uk, told Steel First.
Currencies.co.uk does not think sterling will fall much further. “Most of the bad news has already been realised in the price over the past few months,” Hughes said. However, Hughes “would not be surprised” to see sterling fall as low as $1.1300 before stabilising.
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Mar 19
The Daily Telegraph – UK inflation climbs to 2.8pc in February: reaction
Stephen Hughes, Currencies.co.uk
Sterling exchange rates have strengthened this morning following the news that we are above the Bank of England’s target inflation level, but this should be mired with caution. The Bank of England is suffering from an on-going major headache due to the conflict of wanting the pound lower, but the need to control inflation. Unfortunately, raising interest rates to fight high inflation isn’t the answer – this only brings more expensive borrowing costs for industry and the private individual, leading to less investment and ultimately, less growth.
This morning’s news, and subsequent boost to Sterling, may simply be a short term spike, so if you have an upcoming currency requirement we recommend speaking to a currency expert
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