Sterling drops as Euro crisis puts pressure on riskier currencies

Published: 25 October, 2011

Sterling dropped against the US dollar yesterday, coming off a six week high of $1.6001/£1 as uncertainty over the European debt crisis put pressure on 'riskier' currencies.

Currency rates - October 25

EURO/GBP - 1.1479

US$/GBP - 1.5956

CHF/GBP - 1.4114

CAN$/GBP - 1.6023
AUS$/GBP - 1.5295
ZAR/GBP - 12.6122
JPY/GBP - 121.58
HKD/GBP - 12.4186

NZD/GBP - 1.9872
SEK/GBP - 10.4772

AED/GBP - 5.866

US$/EURO - 1.3878

The poor appetite for risk and lack of any positive UK data meant that investors took profits from sterling's earlier rally. With the UK exposed to the euro region, investors were increasingly negative over the pound's prospects in the event that Wednesday's announcement over the European debt crisis fails to deliver an effective solution.

In the euro zone, the euro gained against the US dollar for most of the day as markets became cautiously optimistic about Wednesday's announcement despite rumours of political bickering over the weekend and disagreement over several key parts of the package. Aside from the obvious focus on the debt crisis, there was mixed purchasing manager data from across the region which further added to the gloomy picture of European recovery.

In the USA, the US dollar was driven by risk appetite yesterday with US stocks performing well after positive earnings figures and a number of potential merger deals. The US dollar regained some of the ground lost earlier to the euro as doubts emerged surrounding the debt crisis package, however there was also some profit taking. Better than expected Chinese data helped ease concerns that the country's economy was faltering and with many investors pinning their hopes on China to drive the global recovery this certainly helped.

Elsewhere, Japanese officials said that a strong yen was causing concern. Officials stated that the central bank would take action to curb excessive trading and speculative movements of the currency.

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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