The pound has received a welcome boost over the last week due to positive commentary surrounding Brexit talks, and the UK seemingly edging closer to securing a deal with the EU, which pushed the GBP/EUR exchange rate to hit a 5 month high yesterday.

Over the last week, a £200,000 currency purchase has become €5,650 or $7,900 less expensive if timed now compared to the lows during this period, and highlights just how important it is to be in close contact with a broker to help you to capitalise on spikes as they happen.

Currency Pair		% Change in 1 month	Difference on £200,000
GBP	EUR	2.5%	€5,650 EUR
GBP	USD	4.3%	$10,980 USD
GBP	CAD	3.7%	$12,270 CAD

The key reason for Sterling’s current vulnerability however is Brexit. If there is one thing investors do not react well to it is uncertainty and at present it is extremely difficult to call whether or not a deal is going to come to fruition.

It was announced yesterday that a senior member of the Democratic Union Party (DUP), Jeffrey Donaldson, tweeted to say “looks like we’re heading for no deal”, which caused concern amongst investors as Theresa May will ultimately rely on the support from Jeffrey Donaldson along with 9 other members of the DUP in order to get a Brexit deal passed by Parliament.

However, following from a Cabinet meeting also during yesterday afternoon, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab was asked if the meeting should get a thumbs up or thumbs down, he responded with “thumbs up”.

These contradictory comments caused swings on sterling’s value throughout the course of the afternoon, however hit a 5 month high against the euro after Raab’s comments, and just demonstrates the volatility sterling is experiencing when political figureheads comment on Brexit progress.

This volatility is set to continue for the foreseeable future, after Theresa May’s spokesperson commented to say that more time was needed to resolve the Irish Border dispute, which is the main issue left for the UK and EU to agree on.

GDP, Manufacturing and Industrial figures could impact Sterling rates on Friday

Economic data from the UK is relatively light for this week until Friday morning when preliminary Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for the third quarter of this year, along with September’s figures, will be released. All are expected to improve from the previous readings.

Manufacturing and Industrial Production figures for September will also be released and could result in a mixed overview for the UK. Therefore, clients wishing to purchase currency with Pounds could benefit from getting in touch ahead of these releases to capitalise on sterling’s recent gains, in case the data disappoints, or if further negative comments are made regarding a no deal Brexit in the coming days.

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News

26th January 2021

GBP Moves Higher Against EUR

The pound rallied higher yesterday with levels moving back towards the recent peak seen last week.

By James Lovick

25th January 2021

Sterling Retreats From 8-Month Highs Against the Euro

The pound to euro exchange rate is at 1.1259 at the time of writing, falling from 1.1321 highs seen on Friday.

By Tom Holian

22nd January 2021

Sterling’s Steady Rise Continues

Since reports of progress between the UK and Brussels at the end of last year, we’ve seen a steady increase in GBP value.

By Richard Nugent

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