This week’s report comes with encouragement. When you see what happened to the British pound last week, you will see why we say that.
An overview of the currency markets for January 15th – January 19th, 2018
As the week began, the pound stood at 1.3639 against the American dollar. This was boosted to 1.3787 by the end of day one. We lost some ground the following day, sliding to 1.3763, but this was followed by two excellent days. By Thursday night, the pound had soared to a surprising 1.3870. While we fell back to 1.3868 on Friday, it was not enough to result in a bad result for the entire week. Far from it, in fact.
An early dip from 1.1238 to 1.1230 on Monday made us wonder how the week was going to work against the euro. But we needn’t have worried. The following three days saw some excellent exchange rates – at least as far as the pound was concerned. When Thursday evening arrived, the pound had increased to 1.1336. While it did drop a short distance to 1.1316 by Friday night, it was not enough to worry us, nor did it wipe out the gains that had been made across the week.
Our next stop sees the pound going up against the Hong Kong dollar. The week began on 10.671 here, and the progress of the pound was again rather interesting in this part of the world. An early rise to 10.786 on Monday gave way to a drop on the following day, to 10.767. However, we did manage to do well over the next two days, seeing a rise to 10.843 on Thursday night. While there was a minor slide on the final day of the week, to 10.842, that wasn’t enough to ruin the good work we had done so far.
So, we had three good results so far – but there was better in store. This came from New Zealand, where their dollar was no match for the pound last week. We enjoyed five excellent results in a row here, beginning the week on 1.8796 and moving ahead with each subsequent day. By the time Friday night arrived, the pound had managed to seize the initiative by finishing on 1.9047. We were doing well so far.
Finally, we have the Australian dollar to look at. Could the pound continue its good week thus far and deliver yet another great result here? The opening rate was 1.7325, and the pound managed to eke out a slight improvement on day one, resulting in a closing rate of 1.7333 that day. However, things then took a downturn, sending the pound to 1.7290 by Wednesday evening. While we did improve the following day, we ended up stalling on 1.7316 by the end of the week. While this did represent a loss, it was not a huge one given the way the week had gone thus far.
Notable events in the world of currency
More good news, this time against the Canadian dollar
Yes, the good news keeps on coming, with the pound managing to improve from 1.7075 to 1.7253 against the Canadian dollar last week.
More of the same against the Swiss franc
We like how this week is going, and we can confirm the pound also did well against the Swiss currency. It rose from 1.3246 to 1.3306 last week.
Good news against the Icelandic krona as well
Even the less well-known currencies were trounced by the pound last week. Here, the pound moved from 140.812 to 142.541.
So, this was indeed a week to remember. With lots of good results wherever we looked, it was important for us to celebrate the overall performance of the British pound. It is never clear whether the pound will maintain such a performance over time, but we can but hope it does so. Another good week like this would be pleasing to report. With lots to look out for as we progress through the coming weeks, we shall be watching with interest to see what happens next.