GBP

The pound Sterling to dollar exchange rate corrected this week, following sudden losses toward the end of the previous week due to Mark Carney’s comments that interest rates may not rise if employment drops to seven per cent. The UK’s economy is expected to continue to expand during the fourth quarter, however the preliminary reading is to be watched closely, and GBP is expected to come under renewed selling pressure in the case that the data misses its initial estimates.

USD

The Greenback’s demand was pressured by an unexpected drop in US durable goods orders seen in December 2013. According to the US Commerce Department, durable good orders dropped 4.3 per cent during the last month of 2013, despite experts predicting an increase. Despite this, consumer confidence was up for a second month, hitting 80.7 in January – the highest figure since August. The negative reports on durable goods largely failed to alter the overall market expectation for FOMC’s meeting late last week.

EUR

The euro fell today (Friday January 31st) as soft euro zone inflation data brought concerns of the European Central Bank to the surface. The financial institution is concerned that that may have to take steps to prevent deflation occurring.The euro was 0.1 per cent lower against the dollar at $1.3538, and it also hit a two-month low in relation to the yen, sinking to 138.395 yen. Furthermore, data from the Eurozone demonstrated a surprise drop to 0.7 per cent year-on-year in January.

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