US Dollar to Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) Weekly Roundup ? May 5 to May 8

Modified: Sunday, 10 May 2015 22:56 BST - Written by Toni Johnson

STORY LINK US Dollar to Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) Weekly Roundup ? May 5 to May 8

US Dollar to Pound Sterling Exchange Rate Weekly Roundup – May 5 to May 8

At the start of the week, the US Dollar made gains against the Pound and Euro as it found support from data, which showed that factory orders surged above estimates in April. A separate report also showed that consumer sentiment in the USA rose to its highest level since January. The ‘Greenback’ made further gains after the New York ISM index came in above expectations.

Due to the closure of the UK market for a Bank holiday, the Pound came under pressure. Against the US Dollar, the Pound was holding close to a one-week low as the US currency regained ground due to the release of the positive manufacturing data.

The US Dollar weakened on Tuesday as data showed that the USA’s trade deficit surged to its highest level in six-years as imports surged higher. Also putting pressure on the currency was the release of weaker-than-forecast Markit PMI data. Mixed ISM data also weighed.

The Pound Sterling inched higher following the release of data, which showed that activity in the UK’s dominant services sector increased more than expected. The Markit compiled PMI rose to a reading of 59.5 from the preceding month’s figure of 58.9 and beast forecasts for a fall to 58.5. Gains were restrained on worries ahead of the general election.

Midweek, the US Dollar was stronger against the weakened Pound, but was trading at a 2-month low against the Euro and was weaker against most other major peers. The ‘Greenback’ remained under pressure from a report, which showed that the US private sector added just 169,000 jobs last month. The figure was well below the 200,000 expected.

As the week came to a close the US Dollar weakened against the Pound as the Conservative party won a majority at the general election. The reduction in uncertainty over the result sent the Pound surging. The Pound surged to its best level since 2009. The vote saw the Liberal Democrats decimated and the Labour Party performed worse than predicted.

Domestic house price data also offered support as prices were shown to have risen strongly in April. The US Dollar recovered some earlier losses but was unable to rise further following the result of rather tepid employment data. The Department of Labour said that the U.S. economy added 223,000 jobs last month, below expectations for an increase of 224,000. The number of jobs added in March was revised to 85,000 from a previously estimated 126,000. The data fuelled concerns over the strength of the US Labour market.

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