In this report, we see how the British pound ended the year and forged ahead into 2019. Did it do well in this respect, or will we begin the New Year with more uncertainty? We have the news right here for you.
An overview of the currency markets for December 31st, 2018 – January 4th, 2019
The week began with the British pound standing at 1.2699 against the US dollar. It then managed to increase to 1.2745 before the markets stopped to celebrate the year change. Business resumed on 2nd January as the pound dipped to 1.2607. Fortunately, despite that dip, the final two days of the week brought better news. By Friday night, the pound had managed to secure a closing rate of 1.2719 – slightly higher than the opening rate for the week and a mildly promising start to the New Year.
Things would perhaps be more uncertain against the euro, but would reality match our thoughts here? The pound started trading on 1.1104 on New Year’s Eve, rising to 1.1119 to close out that day. As 2019 dawned on the currency markets, the pound dipped and changed uncertainly. However, Friday evening saw the markets close with the British pound sitting on 1.1161 – better than we had expected. Although it was a small increase, it was an increase, nonetheless.
Could we expect something similar against the Hong Kong dollar? We opened the final day of trading for 2018 on 9.9453 and finished it in strong form on 9.9816. It was almost too much to wait a day to find out what would happen as the pound entered 2019 in this part of the world. Unfortunately, when the markets did reopen, they did so with a dip in store for the pound. Falling to 9.8754 on Wednesday, the pound recovered ground to finish the week on 9.9657, which was surprisingly better than it had finished the year on.
The pound began trading against the New Zealand dollar on 1.8919 before improving to 1.8981 as the old year ended. Resuming trading on 2nd January, the pound fell to 1.8944 and fell further the next day. It did manage to gather some of those losses on Friday, but the closing rate for the week all told was still lower than it had been to start with, ending on 1.8894. At least the difference was minimal.
Finally, let’s see how the pound fared against the Australian dollar. Here, it started out on 1.8030 on New Year’s Eve before rising to 1.8071 to close out 2018. Two further drops occurred early in the New Year, before Friday saw the biggest drop of all. This meant the pound had a rough time of it in this part of the world, falling to finish the week on a disappointing 1.7872.
Notable events in the world of currency
A notable fall against the Canadian dollar
There was more bad news for the pound here, as it fell from 1.7321 to 1.7009 against the Canadian currency.
Better news against the Swiss franc
There was a more cautious approach here, it seemed, as the pound began the week on 1.2500 and saw some small changes here and there. It finished on 1.2557 though, so it was good news in the end.
More good news to go into the New Year with against the Icelandic krona
We did well here too, achieving a rise to close out the year with and maintaining a good performance into the new one. All told, the pound went from 147.835 to 149.790 this week.
So, we had some promising results this week, taking us from the last days of 2018 into a New Year. Will the pound turn things around against the euro and maintain a good performance against other currencies? There is no way to tell just now. Perhaps the outcome of Brexit, once known, will settle the markets. Until then, it remains uncertain what each new week will bring. We are ready to bring you the latest results during 2019, so make sure you bookmark this page to return to each week.