Here we are with a four day week that takes us into the four day Easter weekend. This means we have fewer days of trading to focus on than usual, although the chances are good that we will not be short of drama.
An overview of the currency markets for April 14th – April 18th 2014
The week begins as usual with a look at how the British pound stood up to the US dollar. Last week things ended on a rate of 1.6731 and by the time the first day was over this had slipped slightly to 1.6711. The good news was this would be the only time this week the pound would struggle. From then on it rose gradually and by the time Thursday evening arrived, heralding in Good Friday, the pound had risen to 1.6808. This at least would give us a good rate to enjoy starting the following week.
Let’s move over into Europe now, where the British pound opened proceedings on 1.2061 against the Euro. Here it had a better first day, rising to 1.2086 in the process. Indeed the first few days were promising in this corner of the world, as the pound rose to a weeklong high of 1.2137 on Wednesday evening. We were in for a drop on Thursday but it was only a small one, taking the pound back to 1.2131 before the Easter weekend began.
Our third stop takes us to Hong Kong where the pound began on 12.974. This dropped initially to 12.956 before improving once again throughout the week. Indeed even though we only had four days to trade in, the pound managed to increase its standing to 13.0337 by the time the shortened week was over. This was the best result the pound achieved all week.
New Zealand is our fourth stop, and the pound had stalled on 1.9301 as the previous week closed. With a rate of 1.9291 at the end of Monday evening it seemed as if we were in for a troublesome week this time around as well. However this was not to be the case. Indeed Wednesday and Thursday turned out to be very good days, resulting in a closing rate of 1.9523 on Thursday evening.
Could we do the same with regard to the Australian dollar too? The starting rate here was 1.7816 which dropped to 1.7756 before rising to 1.7812 on Tuesday. The best was saved for last though as we closed Thursday evening on 1.7981.
Notable events in the world of currency
A good improvement against the Canadian dollar
This was clearly a good week for the pound as it rose from 1.8352 to 1.8504 against the Canadian dollar.
Another good result against the Swiss franc
Here too the pound did well, rising from 1.4667 to 1.4770. Clearly the British pound did not need to have a full week to work with this week.
Three out of three – the pound does well against the Icelandic currency
Here too the pound was able to improve its standing. It started on 187.292 and ended up rising to 188.028.
Clearly the loss of one day of trading did not harm the British pound in any way. Indeed it seemed as if it was able to make the most of the four days that were available to it, bringing in a number of good results in the process.
The question now is whether it can do the same next week, which will also be a four day week. Easter Monday will not be a regular trading day so we have yet another four days of trading to work with. We shall be keeping a close eye on the results to see whether the British pound is able to have another shorter but more successful week next week too. With lots to keep in mind this could be an interesting couple of weeks on the currency markets. Join us next week to see what happens next.