Foreign Exchange Report : GBP USD Rate Drops to 6-Week Low as US Congressman Stall on Debt Deal

Published: Tuesday, 22 November 2011 08:42 BST - Written by David Woodsmith

STORY LINK Foreign Exchange Report : GBP USD Rate Drops to 6-Week Low as US Congressman Stall on Debt Deal

The Pound Euro exchange rate (GBP EUR) is 1.1579. The Pound Dollar exchange rate (GBP USD) is 1.5679. The Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate (GBP AUD) is 1.5851.

The Eurozone’s debt crisis has stolen the headlines in recent weeks, as the yields paid on Greek, Italian and Spanish bonds by their respective governments gradually rose to levels of concern. However, the worrying developments in Europe in recent months have served to mask the fiscal woes of the world’s most heavily indebted nation – the United States.

Concerns over US policy-makers’ willingness to raise the debt-ceiling, (effectively the credit limit for America’s budget deficit), caused a general loss of appetite for risk earlier in the year, which saw the safe-haven US Dollar come in for significant support, taking the GBP USD rate lower and causing the US to lose its AAA debt rating with leading credit ratings agency S&P.

The US’s debt crisis reared its head once again during yesterday’s session as news broke that the bi-partisan ‘super-committee’, which was convened three months ago with the specific aim of finding $1.2tn of cost-savings in order to enable the US to fulfil its current debt commitments, was close to admitting defeat. The committee was given a deadline of 23rd November to reach an accord, when it was convened in August. A failure to reach a workable agreement would cause an immediate cut of $1tn to the US’s defence and domestic budgets, with the committee’s members being held directly responsible.

High levels of uncertainty led to the safe-haven US Dollar being heavily supported in the market yesterday, with the GBP USD rate trading down to a 6-week low of 1.5612. The ‘risk off’ trading environment has been highlighted by pronounced losses for global equities markets over the past twenty-four hours. This has caused the GBP AUD, GBP NZD and GBP ZAR rates trade dramatically higher on the day. Further upside is likely for these pairs throughout the remainder of the week, as market participants continue to fear the worst for the global sovereign debt market.


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