Foreign Exchange Report : GBP EUR Rate Makes Gains In Spite of German Bundestag?s Vote in Favour of Expanding EFSF

September 30, 2011 - Written by John Cameron

STORY LINK Foreign Exchange Report : GBP EUR Rate Makes Gains In Spite of German Bundestag?s Vote in Favour of Expanding EFSF

The Pound Euro exchange rate (GBP EUR) is 1.1520. The Pound Dollar exchange rate (GBP USD) is 1.5597. The Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate (GBP AUD) is 1.5973.

There was relief for investors holding Euro-denominated assets yesterday when German law-makers voted, by an unexpectedly large majority, to expand the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) from its current level of €440bn to allow it to cover debt guarantees of €780bn.

The move had been widely anticipated, in spite of the unpopularity of the EU’s bailout scheme with German voters. However, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democratic Union party suffering heavy losses in recent regional elections, the scale of the ’yes’ vote in the Bundestag yesterday surprised many observers; 523 deputies approved the bill with only 85 opposing.

However, the positive outcome in Germany’s parliament failed to cause the Euro to strengthen in the currency markets, suggesting that market-participants had been expecting a ‘yes’ vote and had already factored this in to their pricing. In fact, the GBP EUR rate moved higher following the vote to touch 1.1527 by late in yesterday’s European session, having traded in the mid-1.14s earlier in the day. This move also implies that investors feel that the proposals to beef-up the EFSF do not go far enough and that a further extension will be needed sooner rather than later.

Yesterday’s ’yes’ vote in the Bundestag means that ten of the seventeen nations who use the Euro have voted in favour of the EFSF expansion; the move will be passed into law as soon as the other seven vote in favour of it.

Elsewhere, Sterling was broadly supported on the day yesterday as Bank of England figures showed that 52,410 mortgages were approved last month, the highest number since the end of 2009. This was an unexpectedly high figure, providing the UK housing sector with a much-needed fillip following some worrying recent house price data in recent months.


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