Welcome back to another report on the progress – or lack thereof – of the British pound on the currency markets. Would this be a week when we would see movement in the right direction? Now is the time to find out.
An overview of the currency markets for November 13th – November 17th, 2017
The British pound began the week’s trading on 1.3187 against the US dollar. From there, it slipped to 1.3093 on day one, giving us a poor start and making us question where things would go from there. We needn’t have worried though – at least not to begin with – as the next three days were far more encouraging. By Thursday night, the pound had returned to 1.3198. While it did finish slightly lower than this on 1.3195, this still represented a small rise for the entire week. Far better than the loss we were half-expecting after that bad start.
A quick jump across to Europe now, and a look at whether the pound would beat the single currency this week. It began on 1.1316 against the euro, before falling to 1.1233 by Monday evening. As it turned out, there were other falls to come, too. By Wednesday night we had fallen to 1.1122. While we rose slightly to 1.1212 the following day, this was not enough to secure a good week. The drop to 1.1187 on Friday also put paid to any improvements in this part of the world.
We were hoping for a similar pattern against the Hong Kong dollar as we had seen against the US dollar. We did experience the loss on day one, dropping from 10.289 to start and falling to 10.212 to close the day. From then on, though, the week was all about the improvement of the British pound. Four days and four rises saw the currency end in better shape on 10.308 this week.
So, could we achieve something similar against the New Zealand dollar? We began trading on 1.8988 here, before falling to 1.8959 on day one. However, we were expecting a better end to the week than a beginning, so could we achieve that? We rose to 1.9079 on Tuesday but then fell again the following day, this time to 1.9069. From then on, though, things got better. By Friday, we ended on 1.9435 – a rate that was almost unimaginable on Monday morning, and an excellent result for the week.
Just one more stop now, which would take us to Australia. We began trading on 1.7179 for the week here, and although we fell to 1.7138 on Monday, we were by now used to that initial fall. It did not mean the remainder of the week would be anything but impressive. And indeed, that is the way things progressed. By Friday night, the pound had enjoyed four good days in a row. That meant it finished on 1.7488 for the week here.
Notable events in the world of currency
A good week against the Canadian dollar
This would be a successful week here, too, with the pound moving on from 1.6709 to 1.6840 over the entire week.
A drop against the Swiss franc
Given the other results we have seen this week, it is surprising to see the pound lose ground here. But it did, falling from 1.3116 to 1.3084 against the Canadian currency.
Another fall against the Icelandic krona
There were falls elsewhere too, such as the one from 136.817 to 136.367 against the Icelandic currency.
So, while the British pound did very well in some notable quarters last week, it was not a performance that was repeated everywhere. This still speaks of some fragility in the currency, although with ongoing Brexit negotiations currently somewhat sticky, it may be true to say the currency will experience some hiccups for a while.
We shall be watching to see whether it improves still further against those major currencies in the coming weeks, as the final push to reach the end of 2017 takes place. What will the New Year have in store for the currency?