Here we are with our first currency report of 2014. We’re taking a look at the last couple of days of trading in 2013 here, along with the first couple in the New Year. How did the change pan out for the British pound?
An overview of the currency markets for December 30th – January 3rd 2014
So it is time to see how the British pound would go from 2013 to 2014 with a fresh look at the currency markets. On the 30th December it started the day at 1.6511 against the US dollar but fell to 1.6478 by the end of the day. Fortunately it did pick things up again and it closed on 1.6541 on New Year’s Eve. There was a break the following day for everyone to celebrate the New Year, but after that things looked downcast again for the pound. It finished the week on 1.6417 against the US dollar – slightly lower than it had begun the week.
In Europe the pound began the week on 1.1952 against the Euro, and enjoyed a couple of reasonable days at the end of 2013. This meant it finish on 1.1994 on the 31st. The New Year saw a closing rate of 1.2074 on the 2nd, before a slight fall came into play on the 3rd, as the pound fell back to 1.2041.
Let’s see how things would pan out against the Hong Kong dollar now. We opened with an exchange rate of 12.804 here before losing ground and ending up on 12.779 on Monday night. New Year’s Eve saw a reprieve though as the pound fought back to close out the year on 12.826. Unfortunately this would be as good as things would get, and once 2014 got underway the Hong Kong dollar found the strength to fight back. This meant the British pound finished up on 12.731 at the end of the week.
Our next stop is with the New Zealand dollar. Here the pound started off on 2.0191 before falling back to 2.0164 on Monday evening. There was another drop in store to round off the year too, as the pound finished up on 2.0105 on New Year’s Eve. We thought we had a reprieve when things got back up and running on the 2nd, as the pound rose to finish on 2.0229. Unfortunately the pound dropped like a stone on Friday, and finished up with a poor closing rate of 1.9789 as a result.
Finally we have just one more stop to consider as the Australian dollar goes up against the British pound. Here the pound started the week on 1.8533 before improving slightly to 1.8555 on Monday night. This was wiped out the next day as the pound finished the year on 1.8499. Once things got underway again on the 2nd January, we had a nice surprise as the pound soared to close on 1.8623. Unfortunately that was as good as things got – and there was a nasty surprise in store. Friday ended with a poor exchange rate of just 1.8250 for the pound.
Notable events in the world of currency
A fall against the Canadian dollar
Bad news here for the pound as it fell from 1.7607 to 1.7421 against the Canadian dollar.
But better news against the Swiss franc
Here the news was more encouraging. We noticed a significant change as the pound improved from 1.4622 and finished on 1.4822.
A small loss against the Indian rupee
The pound was unable to hang onto its starting rate of 102.340 and instead it fell to close on 102.115.
It is clear that the transition between the old year and the new has not been an easy one for the British pound. However we can only hope the New Year will be more encouraging as we get back to full trading weeks. We shall have more for you next week.