Staying on top of the latest currency news can help you time your transfers more effectively, so find out what you should be looking out for over the next couple of weeks…
Latest currency news
The pound has fallen sharply over the past two weeks after GBP investors were alarmed by some disappointing UK data.
This has seen GBP/EUR slip from 1.19 to 1.18, whilst propelling EUR/GBP to 0.84.
Meanwhile, GBP/USD plummeted from 1.30 to 1.25, whilst EUR/USD retreated from 1.08 to 1.05.
What’s been happening?
The pound fell to multi-month lows in the past couple of weeks. These losses were mostly focused towards the end of these two weeks as an abysmal retail sales print raised fresh concern over the UK’s cost-of-living crisis as well as denting Bank of England (BoE) rate hike bets.
A dovish rate decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) weakened the euro in the run up to Easter. But Emmanuel Macron’s victory in the French election and hawkish comments from ECB vice president underpinned a subsequent recovery in EUR exchange rates.
At the same time, the US dollar has trended broadly higher, underpinned by Federal Reserve rate hike bets as well as a souring of market sentiment.
What do you need to look out for?
The BoE’s May policy meeting will be a key focus for GBP investors over the next couple of weeks. Will the bank stay its hand and sink the pound?
An expected 50bps interest rate hike from the Fed is likely to underpin the US dollar over the next couple of weeks, especially if the US central bank hints at more to come.
Finally, a renewed focus on the war in Ukraine as Russia refocuses its forces in the east could infuse fresh volatility into the euro.
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