Welcome back to our twice weekly look at the currency markets. Last week we started a new system where we split the week into two chunks so we can bring you an updated report more speedily than ever before.
Last time we saw the pound dip against all five of the major currencies we look at in the first two days of the week. It lost half a cent against the US dollar; nearly a cent against the Euro; 0.041 against the Hong Kong dollar and 0.0167 against the New Zealand dollar. And the Aussie dollar really gave it some trouble, as it lost out on two and a half cents in those first two days.
So this makes us wonder how the remaining three days of the week would play out. Would we be seeing lower figures on the currency calculator or would there be better news in store for a healthier end to the week?
Let’s find out now as we check out what really happened.
An overview of the currency markets for February 10th – February 12th 2010
So let’s start where we usually do with the US dollar. At the end of Tuesday evening we left the pound on 1.5629 after nursing that half a cent loss so far. Could we remedy that by putting on some pressure for the remainder of the week?
Wednesday didn’t seem too promising thus far, as by the end of the day the exchange rate had dropped to 1.5617. At least this was just a small drop though – it could have been a lot worse.
Thursday at least came to an end with better news, as the pound managed to up its game and finish the day on 1.5633. This wasn’t a huge increase but at least it opened the door for a little bit of hope to sneak through.
Unfortunately that hope was duly snatched away by Friday night, as the pound ended the week on 1.5616. That meant it had lost out on another 0.0013 US dollars.
So what of the pound’s battle against the Euro? Could we improve on the 1.1358 we left it on at the close of play on Tuesday?
Things got marginally better on Wednesday as the pound crept up to 1.1366. There was another improvement in store the following day as well, as the pound exerted a little more pressure on the Euro by finishing on 1.1396. Did this mean the pound might just turn around the poor performance it had turned in earlier in the week?
It did. Friday night brought a successful end to the week in the shape of an exchange rate pegged at 1.1506. What an impressive end that was, and it meant the pound was up by nearly one and a half cents since Tuesday night.
On to the Hong Kong dollar now, to see whether the pound could reverse the loss it had already experienced earlier in the week. The figure we are moving on from is 12.142, so let’s hope we could make an equally good start here.
Unfortunately Wednesday night’s figure was slightly lower than we had hoped for, coming in at 12.135 at the end of the day. Thursday brought a hopeful improvement though as the pound increased its standing to 12.147. Could we keep that increase in place for one more day?
The answer did not go in our favour. By the time the week was over and the final exchange rates came in, the pound stood at 12.134 against the Hong Kong dollar. This meant we were down by 0.008 on the figure we had seen on Tuesday night.
So let us move on to the New Zealand dollar now, as we see if we could improve on the figure of 2.2577 that we were left with on Tuesday. The early signs were not good as the pound lost some ground and finished up on 2.2535. The following day was even more worrying though as the pound dived to 2.2373. Was this going to be the worst point of the week or was there more to come?
Luckily we pulled our socks up and pulled back to 2.2506 on Friday night. But this was still over half a cent down on Tuesday night.
Finally we have the Australian dollar, where the pound closed on 1.7865 on Tuesday. Wednesday saw a drop to 1.7844 which fell even further to 1.7602 the next day. And although we managed to increase the exchange rate to 1.7680 by Friday night it was too late to avoid losing nearly two cents since Tuesday evening.
Notable events in the world of currency
Egypt struggles against Aussie dollar
The Egyptian pound was worth 0.2081 against the Aussie dollar on Tuesday night, before diving to 0.2052 on Thursday. It rallied slightly on Friday but not enough to make up its losses. It finished on 0.2064.
Euro dives against a strong New Zealand dollar
It was good news for the Kiwi dollar but not so good for the Euro last week. Tuesday night saw the Euro worth 1.9877 but it lost ground steadily for the remaining few days of the week to close on a poorly 1.9560.
Canadian dollar shows up US dollar
From 1.0668 on Tuesday night it was clear that the US dollar had nothing in the locker to trouble the Canadian dollar. By Friday the rate was down to 1.0513.
There was some interesting news about the Nordic currencies at the end of last week as well. This report on the Bloomberg website explored how the Norwegian krone and the Swedish krona had a poor week compared to some other currencies. It also explains the reasons why this occurred.
So there we are at the end of our second report in this new format. We’ll be back soon to discover what happened during the first two days of the new week, on the 15th and 16th February respectively. Make sure you’re here to find out.
I wasn’t too sure about this new format to begin with, but now I have read the first two reports split over the course of a week I have to say I quite like it. I just have to remember to visit twice a week instead of just the once now.
It’s a pity the pound didn’t have a better week to celebrate this new format though. I must admit that after reading the first report of the week it does leave me wondering whether the pound will improve or get worse for the second half of the week.