Welcome back to our latest report on the state of the currency markets, with a focus on the British pound. How did it manage to perform this time? Let’s see.
An overview of the currency markets for July 2nd – July 6th, 2018
The week began on a rate of 1.3157 for the pound against the American dollar. Which way would it go from there, we wondered? The first indication was down, as the pound dipped to 1.3129 on day one. However, from there we managed to secure three excellent days of trading, taking the pound to a healthier rate of 1.3258 by Thursday evening. Even though the pound then dipped again on Friday, it stalled on 1.3233 as the markets closed. This meant we had still done well over the entire week.
We have become used to a position of uncertainty against the euro. This time around it was no different. We began trading on 1.1286 before dipping once more on day one, reaching 1.1280 here. The pattern didn’t quite follow that seen against the US dollar though. Two good days did follow, taking the pound to 1.1349 on Wednesday evening. From there, the currency took a tumble for the remainder of the week. Two poor days meant the pound stalled on 1.1287 by Friday night – just a sliver higher than we’d started with.
So, with two good results thus far, could we make it three by doing well against the Hong Kong dollar as well? We began on 10.323, and the exchange rate dipped once more on Monday – clearly not a good day for the pound. However, Monday’s closing rate of 10.301 went up over the next three days, so that was good news. By Thursday, it had reached 10.405. We did get that final dip on Friday, as we had mostly expected by now, but we still did better by closing on 10.385 for the week.
If you regularly read our reviews, you’ll know we stop at the New Zealand dollar next, where the pound began on an exchange rate of 1.9465. This was where the pattern would change though. Two promising days began the week, taking the pound to 1.9559 by Tuesday night. From then on, the pattern was again turned on its head, with three dips in a row. That meant Friday’s closing rate was 1.9398 – lower than Monday’s opener had been.
If you expected Australia’s dollar to follow the same pattern as the Kiwi dollar, as it so often does, prepare to be surprised. The pound opened on 1.7817 here, before rising to 1.7851 on day one. It then dipped to 1.7839 the following day, so we were unclear where things would go from there. The answer was two promising days followed by another drop to close the week. The final exchange rate against the Aussie currency was 1.7844 – slightly higher than the opening rate on Monday.
Notable events in the world of currency
A slight drop against the Canadian dollar
Here, the pound could not replicate the good news it had experienced elsewhere. Instead, the pound dropped from 1.7427 to 1.7379 this time around.
An improvement was seen against the Swiss franc
There was good news here though, as the British pound opened on 1.3056 against the Swiss currency before rising to close in a better position on 1.3131.
Another piece of good news came against the Icelandic krona
This may not be a major currency, but the pound still did well against it last week. It opened on 139.269 before rising to 141.317 by Friday evening.
So, it appeared to be a reasonably good week overall, even though there were some hiccups here and there. If we can press ahead in much the same manner, there could be more good news to come next week. Of course, we can never be certain of that, which is why we will be back with the latest facts and figures for you at the same time next week. Will we have good or bad news? We’ll soon know for sure.