Sterling comes under pressure from US dollar

Published: 22 November, 2011

Sterling fell to the lowest level against the US dollar for six weeks yesterday as investors moved away from riskier assets.

Currency rates - November 22

EURO/GBP - 1.1580

US$/GBP - 1.5654

CHF/GBP - 1.4345

CAN$/GBP - 1.6245
AUS$/GBP - 1.5886
ZAR/GBP - 12.9971
JPY/GBP - 120.64
HKD/GBP - 12.2075

NZD/GBP - 2.0818

SEK/GBP - 10.6721

AED/GBP - 5.756

US$/EURO - 1.3525

But sterling remained supported against the euro given concerns over euro zone stability.With a fragile UK economy and the Bank of England's minutes release tomorrow that are expected to show the Bank's readiness to deploy further Quantitative Easing, sterling is set to continue to come under pressure against the US dollar. Some analysts are predicting that sterling will fall to $1.53/£1 by the end of the year as the recovery slows. Figures yesterday showed that UK shopper numbers fell by the fastest rate since last year's heavy snow as consumers tightened their belts.

In the euro zone, fears over the debt crisis continued to cause issues with stock markets falling to six week lows as credit rating agency Moody's issued a warning over France's credit rating as a result of the country's exposure to Greece and Italy. Comments from 'guru' investor Warren Buffett didn't help either - the 'Oracle of Omaha' stated that he couldn't see how and when the European debt crisis would end.

In the USA, the US dollar surged against its counterpart currencies as investors shunned riskier assets and the debt crisis raged on. US stock markets fell yet again, with the S&P 500 slipping below the 1,200 level for the first time since October.

Elsewhere, a swift recovery in Japanese manufacturing supply chains helped the economy recover from a post-quake recession and grow by 1.5% in the 3rd Quarter. However, record highs on the Japanese yen have seen exports drop by 3.7% despite intervention by central authorities to weaken the yen.

Supplied by Nick Ryder of Smart Currency Exchange, the currency partner to Harpers Wine and Spirit who have teamed up with Smart to provide readers with a free bespoke currency service. Go to www.smartcurrencybusiness.com/winespirit for more information or call on 0207 898 0500.

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