Currency Exchange UK

 

Euro remains Weak as Pound Rises

Euro remains Weak as Pound Rises

The euro remains weak this Thursday, as concerns over Greece continue to weigh heavy on the single currency.

In addition to Greece’s fiscal problems, the euro is now also dealing with Portugal’s increasing deficit problems.  In this morning’s early trade, the euro fell 0.5 per cent against the pound to 86.26 pence.

Meanwhile sterling rose to five-month highs against the euro.  Against a basket of currencies, it reached four and a half month highs – the index reached to 81.9.

The pound is boosted not just by the euro’s struggle but also on the back of one of the Bank of England policymakers, who commented that the Bank could find it hard to hold inflation at its target level if services prices and import continue to rise.

Some within the currency market took this and other indications that the Bank will not continue the current 200 pound asset buying scheme at next week’s meeting. 

Against the dollar the pound reached 0.6 per cent to $1.6260 in this morning’s early trading activity.  Poor UK retail sales figures did not seem to affect the pound’s performance.  Earlier in the week, it took a dip on the back of very grudging growth in the fourth quarter.