If you’ll remember from the last report we published, the British pound didn’t do too badly last time. But as we know already, things can change very quickly and what looks good at the moment could turn out to be very different just a few days down the line. Let’s check on the latest results on the currency converter.
An overview of the currency markets for October 18th – October 22nd 2010
The last time we checked on the pound against the US dollar, we saw a rate of 1.6055 on the cards – a good one to finish the week with.
However last week was not as good. As soon as Monday was over it had gone down to 1.5886, and after another two days things were worse still. By Wednesday evening the pound had slipped to 1.5715 instead. It didn’t even seem to have anything at all to fight with this time, finishing miserably on 1.5703 on Friday as a result.
So was this the pattern we would see elsewhere as well? We last left it on 1.1396 against the Euro and the picture on Monday at least was more encouraging. This time we finished the day on 1.1432. It didn’t last long however as we dropped back to 1.1355 the next day. The lowest point of the week was on Thursday, when the pound crawled home on 1.1233. But we did at least pick up a bit to close out the week on 1.1270.
Things were good against the Hong Kong dollar as well last week. But once again the picture didn’t look as rosy this time. We started on 12.455 and by the time Wednesday evening arrived we were a lot worse off on 12.200. It was clear we wouldn’t be making any miraculous comebacks here either, with a final rate of 12.194 for the end of the week. This was not the British pound’s finest moment.
Onto the New Zealand dollar now, and the rate here was starting from 2.1156. When Monday evening finished on 2.1083 we could almost predict the steady drop in figures for the rest of the week. And indeed that is what happened, although the last day did see a slight reprieve as we finished on 2.1003.
Finally it’s across the sea to find out how the pound could perform against the Australian dollar. We weren’t expecting any miracles because things were so bad everywhere else. We started off with a figure of 1.6116 and this very soon started to drop, albeit gradually and not too severely. We also saved a slight improvement at the end of the week to finish on 1.6001.
Well, it could have been worse but it could have been far better for the pound as well.
Notable events in the world of currency
US dollar has a good week against the Aussie dollar
Not every currency fell foul of the Aussie dollar. The US dollar managed to climb from 1.0037 to 1.0189 over the course of the week.
Another good result for the US dollar against the Euro
Here things were pretty good too. The US dollar went from 0.7097 at the start of the week to 0.7176 at the end.
More good news against the Hong Kong dollar
It was clearly a good time for the US dollar last week. From a starting rate of 7.7578 it managed to improve its standing to 7.7653 as the week came to an end.
Speculating over currencies has caused many experts to pull back in the last week. Reports at Reuters have stated that the US dollar is in this position, along with several other major currencies. You can read more by visiting the link given.
So it has been another disappointing week where we have found ourselves scrabbling for some kind of good result from the pound. Perhaps next week we will have better luck?
I’m getting used to the weekly report now and I quite like it. I wish we could have some more positive news more often about the pound though. I know that’s no fault of this site but wouldn’t it be good to know the pound is doing better more often?
Oh well I guess we shall have to wait and see what happens for the long term instead. It would be nice to have promising news though.
So the pound continues its lacklustre performance – the same one it has been putting on for some time now I think! In terms of my business I wish the pound was stronger because I could import goods more cheaply. But of course a weaker pound has its advantages as well. It means I have to be more watchful of where I buy my supplies and stock from, as well as watching the exchange rates.