Pound vs Dollar Exchange Rate Today: Our Weekly USD GBP Exchange Rate Review

November 10, 2014 - Written by Ben Hughes

STORY LINK Pound vs Dollar Exchange Rate Today: Our Weekly USD GBP Exchange Rate Review

At the start of last week, the Pound Sterling was lower against the US Dollar as the USD continued to strengthen on the back of the previous weeks positive economic data releases and the Federal Reserve’s decision to end its monthly quantitative easing programme. It advanced on the back of positive PMI data.

The US Dollar exchange rate strengthened against its major peers on Monday as speculation continued to build that the Federal Reserve is getting closer to raising interest rates, a move that is divergent to the policies being implemented in Europe and Japan.

On Tuesday, the Pound continued to receive support from the release of stronger than expected manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which eased concerns over the strength of the UK economy.

The US Dollar (USD) meanwhile was hovering close to a five year high against a basket of currencies as speculation increased that jobs and manufacturing data would back the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates early next year.

Dollar Rate Today:

The Pound to Dollar exchange rate converts -0.01 per cent lower at 1 GBP is 1.58725 USD.
The Euro to Dollar exchange rate today is converting +0.05 per cent higher at 1.24615 EUR/USD.

Pound (GBP) Exchange Rate Gives up Gains

Sterling gave up some of its earlier gains midweek after the latest Construction PMI data showed that building activity in the UK slowed in October. The dip in the PMI however was not enough to spur a selling of the currency.

The US Dollar strengthened broadly against the Pound and other major peers after the Republican Party won control of the US senate in the mid-term elections.

The victory-buoyed support for the USD as it now means an ending of the stalemate, which has negatively affected decisions regarding the course of the world’s largest economy.

With the Republicans now in charge of both the Senate and House of Representatives the standoffs with the Democrats, which led to the fiscal cliff incident in 2013 should be a thing of the past, at least until the next Presidential elections.

Against the US Dollar, Sterling inched higher on Thursday as investors embarked on a round of profit taking.

The US currency initially strengthened after Wednesday’s report by the payroll processor ADP showed that US businesses created 230,000 jobs last month, beating forecasts for a figure of 220,000. The strong data increased economist bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates early next year. It then softened as traders took profits.

As the week ended, the Pound to US Dollar exchange rate (GBP/USD) slid to a weekly low after falling to a 13-month low on Thursday.

The GBP fell after the BoE monetary policy committee voted in favour of leaving UK interest rates unchanged at the record low level of 0.5%.

Sterling could fall further if the latest UK balance of trade data comes in below forecast.

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