Sterling rises against Euro but U.S Dollar is still King.

Sterling exchange rates continued on the upside last week- closing on Friday above 1.15 against the Euro. We have seen Sterling rebound effectively against the lows 4 weeks ago.

This is almost a gain of 10% on this currency pair- usually, it would take the market a year to move at this pace- but currently, the markets are providing excellent opportunities in current volatility. The Pound to Euro price is currently at 1.15.

Similarly, GBPUSD has moved by around 9% since it printed a low of 1.14 3 weeks ago- rising to the 1.25/1.26 area. Again, a move which you wouldn't see in normal trading- these unprecedented times are bringing loads of opportunity to the markets.

It seems GBPUSD has stalled a little, as the U.S Dollar is still the strongest currency, we have seen evidence of this in EURUSD exchange rates, reaching 1.14 at the beginning of March, but now trading at 1.0870- however, this current Euro weakness, should help lift GBPEUR exchange rates a little further- providing the situation doesn't worsen in the UK.

Irrespective of what is happening in the UK & U.S, improvements in global risk sentiment will underpin what happens with Sterling and the U.S Dollar- I do expect AUD & NZD to perform well due to the positive outcome they have had due to early action in this pandemic.

The U.S seems to now have a plan to reopen their country- many are debating whether this will encourage a second wave of the pandemic which will have a greater cost on lives and the economy, or if this is the right solution- this will be watched very closely as the UK have extended their lockdown by at least 3 weeks- but with furlough extended until June- it seems some form of tighter restrictions will remain until at least then.

If you have an upcoming FX requirement that you would like to discuss- please don't hesitate to contact me.