So here we are with our second report of this week, in which we take a look back at how the week began with the first two days worth of information. Last time we had a better end to the week than we’d had at the beginning in terms of how the British pound was doing. And in fact we managed to finish off last week with a better rate of exchange against every one of the five currencies we look at. After the way the week began it was good to get some more positive figures on the currency converter.
We had gained around a cent against the US dollar and half a cent against the Euro. We were also up against the Hong Kong dollar by 0.078, but the biggest result of all was the four cents we managed to increase by during those last three days against the New Zealand dollar. Finally we managed an increase of 0.0125 as well against the Australian dollar, so as you can see it was a good week all in all.
So we were in something of a positive mood as we began this week. But would it last? We needed to keep heading in the right direction but as always there was no guarantee that would actually happen. So let’s see how Monday and Tuesday panned out this week on the currency markets as far as the British pound was concerned.
An overview of the currency markets for March 8th – March 9th 2010
Our first port of call this week is the US dollar as always. Last time we left the dollar on a rate of 1.5049, so we were looking initially to stay above the 1.50 rate.
And we did indeed manage to do this with a closing rate on Monday night of 1.5139. So we got the good start we wanted, but now we had to try and consolidate that by getting an equally good result on Tuesday as well.
Unfortunately that is where we fell down on the job, because by that evening we were back down to 1.4956. This meant we had dropped a total of nearly one cent during the first two days of the week.
Next up we’re off to Europe with a head to head against the Euro. Last time we left the pound on an exchange rate of 1.1080 and by Monday night this had barely moved. We only managed a marginal increase to 1.1081.
And here too Tuesday proved to be our downfall, as we fell back to 1.1032 by the time Tuesday was over. At least it could have been worse – as it was we lost out on nearly half a Euro cent.
The next stop on our list is the Hong Kong dollar, where we were left with an exchange rate of 11.682 at the end of last week. Could we improve on that now or would we have a bad start to the week again here as well?
We did indeed do well on day one as the pound pushed back and climbed up to 11.746. But once again the Tuesday curse struck back and left us nursing a loss that day which wiped out the good work of the day before. The final rate on Tuesday evening was 11.607, giving us a two day loss of 0.075 all in all.
Let’s move on to New Zealand now, where we last left the pound on 2.1837. Could we garner a different result here and hopefully make further inroads on the four cents we had added on at the end of the previous week? We certainly needed something to celebrate this week and we were running out of opportunities to make it happen.
Well, the currency battle with New Zealand certainly did differ from the results we have already seen against the other three countries. But it didn’t differ in a good way. Instead of being on the increase on Monday it went in the opposite direction. By Monday evening when the markets closed the pound was sitting on a poorly 2.1561. And it didn’t get any better on Tuesday either. By then it had sunk back to 2.1438, giving us a total loss over just two days of a massive 0.0399 cents. So the four cents we had grabbed back over the last three days of the previous week were all but lost.
Finally we go across to Australia, where the pound finished on 1.6668 last week. But once again the news here was not good, as the pound sank down to 1.6589 on Monday night and then an even worse 1.6480 on Tuesday. That equated to a loss of 0.0188 all in all, so this was not a good start to the week at all.
Notable events in the world of currency
Canadian dollar drops against New Zealand dollar
From a starting rate of 1.4066 the Canadian dollar was down to 1.3917 against the New Zealand dollar on Tuesday night.
US dollar suffers the same fate
There was similar bad news in store for the US dollar against the New Zealand dollar as well. It went from 1.4510 as the week began to 1.4333 on Tuesday night.
Swiss franc also suffers
It was clearly a good start to the week for the New Zealand dollar as the Swiss franc also suffered at its hands. It dropped back from 1.3469 to 1.3285 over two days of trading.
The British pound might be suffering in the currency markets at the moment. But it is not the only currency to be hurting in this way – and it may surprise you to learn which other currency is having troubles of its own.
This story from the FT.com website illustrates that even the US dollar is having its ups and downs. You can read it here.
So there we are with the first half of data for this week. Will we be reporting on a stronger finish to the week when we come back next time? Or will there be more bad news on the way? We’ll find out very soon – and we’ll see you then.