GBPUSD Exchange hits 1.50 again; Greece Remains Defiant as Creditors Up Pressure for a Deal

After falling to a fresh five year low against the dollar on last week, the Pound managed to claw back some ground during Friday's session after the U.S. posted some weaker than forecast economic numbers and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut the U.S growth forecast.

The main reason why the Dollar has seen so much strength as of recent has been due to Euro weakness which has made the Dollar a safe haven currency, and the fact that interest rate hikes will be looming in the U.S.  Recent data in the U.S has now shown that their recovery is not as strong as we expected and that interest rate hikes in June will be unlikely, so even though the markets are volatile at the moment due to UK elections, we have still seen a comfortable move on GBPUSD from 1.45 back up to 1.50 over the last week due to these weak data releases.

Moving onto the looming situation in Greece, Greece said it won’t renege on election pledges to end austerity measures, even as creditors pressed for a compromise to free financing and avert a worsening crisis. U.S. President Barack Obama and ECB coverage" class="tcb-autolink">European Central Bank President Mario Draghi both called on the Greek government to do more to resolve the standoff amid depleting cash reserves. Greek officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis, stood their ground. European peers want Greece to do more to revamp its debt-burdened economy before they release another tranche of the 240-billion-euro ($259 billion) bailout program. At stake is Greece’s ability to avoid a default and stay in the 19-nation euro area.

Draghi said it was “urgent” that Greece do “much more work” to show it can satisfy the terms of the bailout. “We all want Greece to succeed,” Draghi said Saturday in Washington. “The answer is in the hands of the Greek government.”

It seems that while Greece are standing their ground, the Euro will continue to weaken, this alongside the pressures on the Pound due to the UK elections will make the GBPEUR exchange rates very volatile over the next 3 weeks, so please don't hesitate to contact us if you do have any requirements over this period.