Last week, we had the best set of results for the British pound we’ve seen in a long while. Could movement on Brexit be responsible… and moreover, could this week follow in the footsteps of last?
An overview of the currency markets for September 3rd – September 7th, 2018
The opening salvo this week was not a good one for the pound – not against the US dollar, anyway. The pound began on 1.2983 before dipping over the course of three days. That left the British currency on 1.2822 by Wednesday evening – already a deficit to cover. However, this would soon be a thing of the past. The final two days were more than impressive in terms of the outcome, leaving the pound on a better rate of 1.3010 by Friday night.
With this somewhat surprising result coming to the fore already this week, where would the pound end things against the euro? There was a similar picture here, although the pound didn’t get the same three-day slump to start the week. It began trading on 1.1143 before dipping to 1.1091 on Monday night. It then recovered to 1.1103 the next day and dipped again on Wednesday to 1.1070. Fortunately, those final two days were once again promising. By Friday night, the British pound had managed to attain the best rate of the week on 1.1201.
Third on our list of currencies to check against is the Hong Kong dollar. Here, the pound followed the exact pattern seen against the US dollar. We had three poor days to start with, taking the pound from its opening rate of 10.190 down to 10.077. Only a small loss, thankfully, and not enough to prevent two strong days of trading to close the week. Those two days meant the pound soared to a good closing rate of 10.212 on Friday night. Yet another good finish that made it three out of three thus far.
It may seem hard to imagine we could have two great weeks of trading for the British pound. However, the results so far would indicate that is a possibility. While the exchange rate against the New Zealand dollar doesn’t always follow the pattern seen elsewhere, that wasn’t the case this week. Starting on 1.9566, the pound did fall to 1.9482 on Monday. It recouped those losses and then some to reach 1.9597 by Tuesday night, before falling again the following day to 1.9525. Fortunately, we knew there could be two strong days to help us in the last part of the week. This was indeed the case, taking the pound to 1.9767 to finish.
Just one major currency left to check in this part of our report. The pattern was slightly different here, but it didn’t affect the outcome. Two slips to start the week meant the opening rate of 1.7973 dipped to 1.7867 by Tuesday night. From then on, the pound managed to reach an impressive 1.8167 by Friday evening, making it five out of five good results for the week thus far.
Notable events in the world of currency
More of the same against the Canadian dollar
The pound managed another good result here, moving from 1.6928 to 1.7068 against the Canadian dollar.
A marginal dip against the Swiss franc
A very different picture here, as the pound started on 1.2570 before falling to 1.2496 midweek. It then recovered to round off a week with a slight loss on 1.2564.
Just one dip against the Icelandic krona
That dip came early too, as the pound fell from its opening rate of 138.956 to 138.756 on Monday. From then on, the only way was up. By Friday night, the pound had reached an impressive 145.057 on the currency markets.
This was clearly another successful week for the British pound. There was just that small blip against the Swiss franc to note in an otherwise strong performance. With plenty of entertaining results to look through, our thoughts turn to next week. Could the pound do the same thing three weeks in a row?