Welcome back to another look at the currency markets, and to see how the British pound is faring on the currency converter. Will we be able to see some better results this time, or will we be in for another rough ride?
This is the third full week in November, so let’s find out whether it was a good one for the pound.
An overview of the currency markets for November 8th – November 12th 2010
The opening rate against the US dollar was 1.6227, but by the end of Monday we were already on 1.6131. Was this a disappointing sign of things to come?
We perked up a bit the next day to 1.6170 but when Wednesday dropped back to 1.6070 it was clear that we could end up with a poor week on our hands. Indeed the best it got after that was 1.6134 the next day, and we eventually finished on Friday with a rate of 1.6117 to mull over.
Onto the Euro now, where we last left the pound on 1.1522. Here the picture seemed a little different to the one we saw in the US, as we climbed to 1.1591 on Monday night and never looked back. A strong performance by the pound saw it soar to 1.1777 by Thursday evening. Unfortunately we slipped back a little by the time Friday night rolled around, but we were still on 1.1755 by the end of the week.
Back on the previous Friday we finished on 12.578 against the Hong Kong dollar. A drop to 12.504 on Monday made us question whether we would be following the pattern of the US dollar. It turned out to be a bit of an up and down week, but in the end we sank back to 12.493 by the time Friday night arrived. It wasn’t the best performance by the pound for sure.
Last time we saw the pound drop sharply against the New Zealand dollar, so we were hoping for a significantly better performance this week. The opening rate of 2.0448 soon changed for the better to 2.0493 by Monday evening. After that the only dip was from 2.0633 to 2.0604 on Wednesday through to Thursday, before finishing on a better 2.0751 overall.
Finally we have Australia to look at, where the pound last ended on 1.5975. Would we have a similar result to the one we had gained in New Zealand and end up in another better position? The second half of the week was better than the first, and we ended with a flourish on 1.6263.
Notable events in the world of currency
Canadian dollar climbs against the Aussie dollar
It was good news for the Canadian currency as it soared from 0.9833 to 0.9988 last week.
A smaller climb for the Canadian dollar against the Swiss franc
The opening rate of 0.9607 climbed slightly to 0.9643 over the course of the week, giving the Canadian dollar another good performance.
But would it win against the US dollar?
As it turned out the Canadian dollar didn’t quite have what it took to get a good result against the US dollar. Instead it dropped from 0.9988 to 0.9898 over the course of the week.
Some currencies are having a tougher time of it than others at the moment, as this story from Bloomberg illustrates. If we thought the pound was struggling in some areas it would seem that it is still a lot better off than some other currencies. The Chilean peso is struggling to keep its nose ahead of the competition at the moment, and understandably it makes for interesting reading.
So there we have it – another week on the currency markets and hopefully one that will see the pound moving towards some better results. We’ll be back soon to find out what happens next and to share that news with you.