Welcome back to another look at what has been happening in the currency markets. Last week we saw the pound have another mediocre week on the currency converter, so the question now is whether it has had a better time this week. Let’s find out the answers right now.
An overview of the currency markets for November 22nd – November 26th 2010
The opening rate for the pound versus the US dollar this time around was 1.5989. If we wanted a positive start we didn’t get it as we immediately dipped to 1.5963 on Monday evening. By Wednesday we had slipped even further to 1.5808 and there were more dips to come too, as we realized we were completely at the mercy of the dollar. We ended the week much lower on 1.5656.
With that poor result to kick off with, could we do any better elsewhere? We were opening with 1.1693 against the Euro but here the story was better – just two days later we had improved our standing to 1.1793. If we wanted to achieve even more by the end of the week we were actually able to do it here too. Our closing rate on Friday evening was an impressive 1.1838 on this occasion.
With that rate putting a spring in our step, it’s time to see whether we could achieve anything like that against the Hong Kong dollar. The opening rate here was 12.398 but unfortunately the British pound seemed destined to follow the pattern it had set aside against the US dollar rather than the Euro. The only way it seemed we could go was down in this situation, and by Friday night the exchange rate had changed markedly to sit on 12.154 instead.
We were struggling against the New Zealand dollar too as we’d dropped to 2.0603 last time we saw what was happening. But apart from a small drop from 2.0794 to 2.0730 between Wednesday and Thursday this week, we were definitely in the driving seat this time. Our last exchange rate before the weekend was pegged at 2.0898.
The pattern against the Australian dollar was very strange though. So far we have seen largely increases or decreases spread out over the whole week against other currencies. But this time it would be ups and downs that would characterise the pattern against the Aussie dollar.
Our opening rate was 1.6257 and we went up and down each and every day, reaching a low point of 1.6061 on Thursday night before zooming back up to 1.6236 on Friday to finish the week. It was certainly an entertaining ride.
So you can see the pound didn’t do too badly in some areas of the currency markets last week, although it was certainly unpredictable in many ways as well.
Notable events in the world of currency
US dollar records an improvement against the Aussie dollar
There was good news here for the US dollar as it went up from 1.0167 to 1.0370 over the course of the week.
Improvements too for the US dollar versus the Euro
Here too there was good news as the dollar went from 0.7313 to 0.7561 overall.
A subtle increase against the Canadian dollar
There was a smaller increase for the US dollar here but it still managed to improve from 1.0206 to 1.0225 over the whole week.
There are still plenty of stories floating around concerning the strength of the European single currency. Ireland’s woes haven’t helped matters and many are still questioning whether the Euro can survive. This story at the FT.com website reveals more news about the state of the currency and how it has performed on the currency markets.
So there we are for another week – it makes you wonder where the pound and indeed the Euro will be when we return in seven days to bring you more news, doesn’t it?
I often travel throughout Europe and it has been interesting reading all the stories about the possible future scenarios concerning the Euro. I think we may be seeing the beginning of the end for the currency, but of course we just have to wait and see what happens in the coming weeks. Countries in the EU falling into troubles and debt do not bode well however, so I wonder where the story will end here.
I think I agree with the above person, thinking that the Euro is on its way out. The actual process may take a long time, but I think it will be inevitable that it will go the same way as all the other single currencies that have ever been tried in the past. It will be interesting to see whether we have got things right or whether it will be around for a long time to come.