US Dollar:
The dollar gained against the Japanese yen but slipped against the euro and pound in Asian trading overnight, as strength in equities helped boost appetite for the riskier currencies and trigger an unwinding of some short positions against the European currencies. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 86.942, down from 87.469 in North American trading late Fri¬day. However, the greenback gained against its Japanese rival to buy 91.85 yen, up from 91.65 in late North American trading Friday. The South Korean won continued its wild ride to surge in Monday trading, with the U.S. dollar falling nearly 2% to 1,222.8 won, down from 1,246.1 won late Friday and an intraday high of 1,270.1 won on Thursday, according to data from FactSet.
DATA : No major data to be released today
Pound:
Sterling rebounded against the US dollar overnight erasing most of Friday’s losses as investor sentiment im-proved on growing hopes that the global economic recovery was still on track. GBP/USD hit 1.4651 during late Asian trade, advancing 0.69%. Cable was likely to find support at 1.4229 the low of May and resistance at 1.5045, the high of May. Later today Adam Posen a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Commit¬tee was due to speak at an event in New York where traders will likely scrutinize his comments for clues to fu¬ture shifts in monetary policy. The pound also climbed verses the yen on Monday with GBP/JPY rising 0.95% to reach 134.62. Meanwhile the Daily Telegraph reported this morning that BP’s largest shareholders have cut their holdings in the troubled oil giant with five of the groups top ten shareholders selling shares in recent weeks. Later today an industrial group is due to publish a report on UK house prices, a leading indicator of inflation in the housing market.
DATA : House price balance
Euro:
Euro Zone Industrial Production is expected to rise 0.5 percent in April, marking the smallest increase in five months. Output is expected to have added 8.7 percent from the same month in the previous year. In level terms however, production will have recovered less than half of the drop from the peak in April 2008 since finding a bottom in May of last year. While the outcome may not generate much interest this time around, traders are likely to pay increasing attention to the report in the months ahead to gauge whether a cheaper Euro is encour¬aging overseas sales, helping to keep economic growth afloat as gaping deficits push up borrowing costs, weighing on domestic demand. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet told reporters the bank's buying of euro-zone government bonds in May was aimed at ensuring markets were functioning the way they were supposed to and that there was no fear the euro would collapse.
DATA : Industrial production
General:
• The Australian dollar gained to a four-week high against the U.S. dollar on Monday while the euro rose briefly above $1.2200 as short-covering was extended on stop-losses in thin, early Asian trade.
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| GBP/USD | 1.4660 |
| GBP/EUR | 1.2033 |
| EUR/USD | 1.2181 |
| GBP/JPY | 134.66 |
| GBP/AUD | 1.7115 |
| GBP/NZD | 2.1105 |
| GBP/ZAR | 11.2268 |
| GBP/CHF | 1.6744 |
| GBP/CAD | 1.5119 |
| GBP/SGD | 2.0507 |
| GBP/THB | 47.26 |
| GBP/HKD | 11.4245 red-down; blue-up (snap shot) |
These rates are for indication purposes
For more information or to get the latest spot rates contact:
John Paul Georgiou
Senior Foreign Exchange Broker