Home Daily Commentaries Sterling ends the month in at bottom of the class

Sterling ends the month in at bottom of the class

Daily Currency Update

GBP - British PoundThe pound slipped to fresh lows yesterday as it's dire form for the month was confirmed. The pound dropped once again to it's lowest levels since the January flash crash and ends the month over 4% down against the USD and 3% against the EUR. There was nothing determinable out of the UK to add more pressure to the pound and for USD currency pairs volatility was extremely low with a lack of economic data for investors to keep an eye out for. Dave Ramsden, the deputy Governor of the Bank of England was speaking yesterday which was eye-catching as he talked around resilience and market volatility. Normally speeches from various central bank figures can be quite dull affairs but Ramsden highlighted how the market could in fact be too sanguine in the face of the uncertainty that it currently faces and that once investors realise this, we could be in for more volatility. As we move into June next week and the final week of the premiership of Theresa May what will be crucial for the market and investors as to which Tory party candidate emerges as the front-runner in the leadership battle.

Key Movers

Despite the relatively quiet day in Europe, Donald Trump once again was turning up the heat. In another unexpected turn of events from the President, he announced that tariffs of 5% would be added to all Mexican imports beginning immediately. This is in response to Mexico's apparent lack of measures to tackle immigration into the US. Trump also announced that these tariffs would increase incrementally until they reached 25%. This was a shock to the market and caught investors on the back foot yesterday as it flies in the face of the recent USMCA deal between the US, Canada and Mexico. In Europe today we get the release of Italian GDP figures once again which will certainly be a talking point and cause further waves for the Euro. Italian GDP and debt has come back into focus this week as tensions between Rome and Brussels have heightened over Italy's budget plans.

Expected Ranges

  • GBP/USD: 1.2550 - 1.2630 ▼
  • GBP/EUR: 1.1300 - 1.1375 ▲
  • GBP/AUD: 1.8195 - 1.8270 ▼
  • GBP/NZD: 1.9360 - 1.9410 ▲
  • GBP/CAD: 1.7015 - 1.7130 ▲