On 1st January this year, the pound stood at 1.7704 against the New Zealand dollar. While we did get a good start to the year, as the pound rose to 1.7756 by Tuesday night, we didn’t end the week in such good shape. Instead, we finished on 1.7598. So, was this a sign of things to come? Would the first few months of the year see a fall overall, or was there better news in store?
The trend over the following week was even more notable. The Kiwi dollar pushed the pound down to 1.7078 by Friday 13th January, which was just the date to ram home what had happened. We did achieve some progress over the next couple of weeks, but even then, we didn’t get back to where we had started. Was there more bad news in store, or would the pound manage to climb back and achieve something better?
January hadn’t been a strong month, but while February’s closing rate of 1.7240 was better, it wasn’t exactly close to where the year had begun for the British pound. The Kiwi dollar was clearly stronger at present, and it was now a matter of how long that would last. A month is a long, long time in the currency markets though, and that meant we would end up making the most of March to trigger a better closing result as we completed the first quarter of the year. In case you were wondering, 31st March closed on 1.7894 for the pound – and that was better than the year’s opening rate had been.
The next month was more encouraging too, as we got into 1.80 territory against the Kiwi currency. In fact, this was one month the pound did manage to save the best for last, achieving a 1.8819 rate on 28th April, the last trading day of that month. But again, we were soon reminded of how much could happen in so little time. Take the rate of 1.8888, which the pound achieved on 19th May. Now, fast-forward to 26th May, just one week later, to find we are standing at 1.8185 instead. And by 10th June, the pound had slid once more, this time to 1.7709.
It was clear the first half of the year showed its ups and downs in several ways. It does also make us wonder what is in store for the second half. After that rollercoaster experience, it is difficult if not impossible to figure out where the pound could stand against the Kiwi dollar by the end of this year. We shall be watching to see what happens from one week to the next, to see which currency comes out on top. We couldn’t guess as it stands now.