If you remember, there was plenty of volatility in the currency markets last week. If you thought you were going to get some relief this week, then you better take a very deep breath. The pound was showing signs of weakness by last Friday and this week it gave up the effort and slumped on us.
So how does a currency slump? In this case, it was without a lot of fanfare but it was on very bad news about the possibility of another recession. The pound fell against the euro, the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the Australian dollar. In other words, a lot of slumping went on the last three days.
Let’s look at what happened to make the last couple of days so painful for the pound.
An overview of the currency markets for August 23rd – August 17th 2010
If you are not a morning person then you must have been really unhappy when you heard the economic forecast by the Bank of England in the morning news. Unfortunately this great institution told us it is “putting a significant chance on the economy contracting over a four-quarter period.”
What that means in one word is…recession…another one.
No wonder the pound proceeded to slump when the economy is threatened with “real risk” of a second recession. So how far did this slump take sterling? Last Friday we saw the pound end the week at $1.551825 against the US dollar. It was holding on pretty well on Monday in the $1.55 range but by late Tuesday the 24th it was at $1.5447. In fact, at one point the slumping pound reached as low as $1.5373 which is the lowest it has seen in over a month.
But that’s not all the bad news. Plenty of analysts are saying the pound is not done slumping on us and could keep right on falling to $1.52 within the next month. It seems the technicals were telling us that a drop below $1.5469 paves the way for a whole lot more slumping.
What do you think happened against the euro? More of the same is the right answer. The pound wasn’t done slumping and hit 1.22530 by Tuesday evening.
The pound really took a beating against most major currencies as a matter of fact. It slumped as much as 1.8 percent when looking at the pound to the yen.
Now let’s look at the Australian dollars. Well yet again the pound did not fare well. Last Friday we left the pound at 1.7475. But by late Tuesday the 24th the pound was a real weakling at 1.7382. One event still impacting the pound-Aussie pair is the Australian parliamentary elections that didn’t give any party a majority.
Notable Events in the World of Currency
Yen Falls From a 15-Year High
The yen has been the currency that’s front and centre right now. Rising to a 15-year high against the US dollar at one point at 83.60 yen on Monday, it did a bit of a retreat on Tuesday to 84.36.
So what brought on this change of heart? It seems the Japanese government has finally hinted that it might intervene in the currency market. That made the yen finally take notice.
Canadian Dollar Hurting as US Economy Fades
When the US is in pain, the rest of the world feels the pain too. Take the Canadian dollar for example. It just fell to the lowest level it has seen in 7 weeks against the US dollar. Canada’s loonie problem is quite sad because Canada was leading the way in the recovery area, but now everything is slowing down again including retail sales.
The Canadian dollar briefly touched the 7 week low at C$1.0665.
The pound is in very uncertain territory right now with the Bank of England issuing such dire warnings about the economy. You can read more about the BOE comments and the predictions for the sterling in a Reuters article here.
I wish I had better news to share with you, but things aren’t looking too good right now for most countries including the UK. The problem is that debt has to be reduced which means austerity measures are needed. But implement austerity measures and the economy slows. Can’t seem to win right now.
Maybe by the next report the news will be brighter. Maybe. But I wouldn’t be holding my breath because there might be some more slumping yet to go.
So we are starting to slump once again are we? That’s a shame as it seemed as though the British pound was looking as if it was in better shape in the past few weeks. I’m not sure I agree with the idea of going into another recession but I suppose we’ll see whether or not that’s the case as time goes on.
I’d be disappointed if we were – I know there has been a lot of speculation about a ‘double dip’ recession but I thought I’d read something about it not being the case? I guess we shall see in due course anyway but I must admit I am sceptical about it. Hopefully I will be proved right as time goes on.
I’m not at all surprised the pound is having a rough time once again. We were always bound to see this happen once the new government got its teeth into the problem of our great national debt.
I think the experts have got it dead right when they say the second half of the year will be pretty depressing. I think they will be proved right as time goes on – I just wonder how far down the pound will go. I remember a while back they were threatening it could hit $1.25 against the US dollar. That never happened but it could get that low now couldn’t it? I am going to bet on a weaker pound dropping down to $1.40 at least in the near future.
Having read this report I’m now thinking about how the rest of the year will pan out. Anyone looking for better value holidays in the US and elsewhere is going to be disappointed again, that’s for sure. It’s as if we all came out of the recession a bit too early, in some respects.
I’ve read bits and pieces about the idea of a double dip recession, but is the slump in the pound something to do with that? I hope not, I hope it’s just a blip and not a full return to recessionary times. I don’t think another recession would do any of us any good. We’re still trying to claw our way out of the first one! Who agrees with me?