Sterling has continued its downward spiral against the Euro this morning following yet another weak figure from the UK economy. Service PMI, the index measuring growth in the services sector was released at 54.30, less than the 56.00 expected and this has pushed Sterling to 13 month lows versus the single currency. This move comes ahead of the rate decisions from both the BoE and ECB with neither expected to alter their base rates. Mervyn King and co remain trapped between low growth and high inflation and with this likely to linger for many months to come, we may not see a Pound recovery for some time.
Meanwhile, the Euro continues to go from strength to strength (for some reason).
It was in November 2010 that I last blogged about the South Korean Won. As a result of the standoff with North Korea and a recent flareup in the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, the Won had plummeted. Still, I viewed these as temporary problems and concluded that, “Ultimately, both the EU fiscal crisis and the tensions with North Korea will subside, which should cause the Won to resume its rise.” Since then, the Won has indeed risen by more than 8% against the US dollar. Rat
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 DXY +0.27% rose on Monday to 73.004, from 72.969 in late North American trading on Friday, after reports that Osama bin Laden has been killed. The reports, citing U.S. authorities, said that the Al-Qaida terror network leader’s body has been recovered.
/quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 Add DXY to portfolio DXY US Dollar Index Future – Spot Price 73.13 +0.19 +0.27% Volume: 0.00 May 2, 2011 3:15a
Risk appetite took a step backwards and the euro dipped but not a lot really and with Europe re-joining the fray (although not with any real commitment as yet) it doesn’t appear that sentiment re currencies, interest rates or sovereign debt issues has changed one iota.
Trading sessions in the days around the weekend were light in volume and low in movement with thin US markets almost totally on their own for long periods. W