Welcome to our latest report on the British pound and its standing on the currency markets. Prepare for some bad news coming your way here.
An overview of the currency markets for July 30th – August 3rd, 2018
The week opened with the British pound on 1.3087 against the American dollar. From there, it enjoyed two excellent days. This meant it closed out Tuesday night on 1.3154. However, that would be the highest exchange rate the pound would achieve all week. The three remaining days went the way of the US dollar in this head-to-head. By Friday night, the pound had fallen to 1.3012. Not only did that equate to three bad days, it also took the pound lower than it had been to start the week.
So, not a good start there. But could the pound achieve something better against the euro instead? The week opened on 1.1258 here, but while we had a good start against the US dollar, it was anything but the same against the euro. By Tuesday night the pound had fallen to 1.1208. There was better news the next day as we perked up to 1.1230, but we dipped once more on Thursday, this time to 1.1217. Although we managed to improve on Friday, it was only by a small amount. This meant we finished lower than we’d started, on 1.1229.
The pound followed the same pattern against the Hong Kong dollar as it had against the US dollar. That meant two good days were followed by three disappointing ones. While we opened on 10.272 and climbed to reach 10.324 on Tuesday, the remaining days undid that good early work. That meant we finished the week on 10.213, which was another disappointment to cope with.
So, where would the pound go next? We have yet to look at its form against the New Zealand and Australian dollars, so let’s start here with the Kiwi dollar. Would this prove to be as bad a performance as we have seen elsewhere? The early signs were less than promising. The pound started trading on 1.9340 before dropping to 1.9271. That was followed by two better days, taking the pound to 1.9302 by Wednesday. But as you might guess, it was downhill from there. The week closed with the pound stalled on 1.9281. Clearly, this was not the ideal scenario for the British currency.
Finally, we should check out the position against the Australian dollar. We can almost guess how this would turn out, and it proved to be the case. The pound started the week on 1.7748 before dipping steadily… and continuing to do so over a five-day period. There was no good news to be had anywhere, which meant the pound finished on a poor 1.7618.
Notable events in the world of currency
More of the same against the Canadian dollar
Here too, the pound was struggling this week. It dipped from 1.7104 to 1.6939, despite having climbed to 1.7146 by Tuesday night.
No great news against the Swiss franc either
Wherever we turned, there was more bad news. The pound opened the week on 1.3056 against the Swiss franc. From there, it managed just one good day in the middle of the week. Overall, it dipped to 1.2945 by Friday night.
Finally, some good news against the Icelandic krona
We needed to look further afield to find some positive news to bring you this week. It came from an unlikely quarter, but we need to hang onto whatever we can. The pound started Monday on 138.252 here, before climbing to 138.798. A small rise, but a rise nonetheless.
So, this was a challenging week. Moreover, we feel there is more to come. The British pound is not having the best of times now, and if that does continue, we should brace ourselves. Could there be worse still on the currency markets next week? We shall hope not but will report the outcome when we have all the facts in front of us. Let’s hope for better news, shall we?