GBP

Sterling surged to a 13 month high against the euro yesterday morning while holding strong against the dollar. The upwards swing didn’t last long, however, and the pound had dipped again by the afternoon.

Although there’s no real data to explain these swings, the volatility could be down to a new financial quarter beginning this week. New quarters always brings the risk of erratic trading as portfolios are re-balanced with limited liquidity.

Yesterday, lockdown rules were eased for Brits nationwide and an additional easing of rules should occur in 13 days, as long as there’s no delays to the UK Gov’s roadmap. So it’s hard not to see more good news in the pound’s future. Especially when over 30 million Brits, almost 58% of the country’s adult population, have had the first dose of the vaccine. The EU, in comparison, have only reached 12%.

Since the start of the year GBP/EUR has strengthened nearly 4.7%, with these gains mainly down to the UK’s vaccine drive. If this disparity continues, it will ultimately set sterling up for even stronger rebounds in the coming months.  

Key announcements

12:00pm – (EUR) – GER Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (YoY)(Mar)