Foreign Exchange Outlook : Pound Dollar Rate GBP USD Heads Lower as Bank of England Delivers Gloomy Report and UK Unemployment Rises, While GBP EUR Drifts Downwards

Published: Thursday, 17 November 2011 08:46 BST - Written by Tim Boyer

STORY LINK Foreign Exchange Outlook : Pound Dollar Rate GBP USD Heads Lower as Bank of England Delivers Gloomy Report and UK Unemployment Rises, While GBP EUR Drifts Downwards

The Pound Euro exchange rate (GBP EUR) is 1.1687. The Pound Dollar exchange rate (GBP USD) is 1.5739. The Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate (GBP AUD) is 1.5640.

Yesterday’s session provided concerning evidence that the UK Government’s self-imposed austerity measures, coupled with an apparent slow-down in the economies of Britain’s major trading partners, are having a pronounced negative effect on the UK’s real economy.

UK labour market figures, released yesterday morning, showed that the number of unemployed rose by 129,000 in the three months to the end of September, taking the total of Britons without work to 2.62m. The figures also showed that over 1m 16 to 24 year olds are jobless; this is the first time since records began that youth unemployment in the UK has risen above the 1m level, raising the spectre of significant social problems.

The worrying job market numbers were compounded by the Bank of England’s Quarterly Inflation Report, which was issued just an hour later. The report, delivered by Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, observed a deterioration in economic conditions since the last report and highlighted the Eurozone’s debt crisis as ‘the single biggest risk’ to the continuance of British economic expansion.

The poor data from the UK’s real economy has lead several analysts to openly call for a furtherance of the Bank’s asset purchase scheme, which currently stands at £275bn. Such rumours are likely to hold the Pound back against the other majors for the foreseeable future.

Sterling edged lower against the Euro and the safe-haven USD during yesterday’s session, with the GBP EUR rate trading as low as 1.1648 on the day, over a cent below last week’s 8-month high. The GBP USD rate continued to trend downwards, briefly breaking back down into the 1.56s.


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