Finance
Brexit uncertainty continues EURO EUR/GBP: Down from £0.87 to £0.85 EUR/USD: Unmoved at $1.13 An increasingly gloomy economic outlook from the Eurozone has been the primary cause of Euro exchange rate movement over the past month, with concerns that growth in the bloc may have stagnated at the start of 2019 dragging on the single currency. The European Central Bank (ECB) latest policy decision proved to be the main drag on the Euro, with the bank slashing its growth forecasts for 2019 and signalling interest rates would remain on hold until at least 2020. However, the past couple of weeks have seen the Euro’s fortunes begin to improve, with a weaker US Dollar and slight improvement in economic data buoying EUR sentiment. With the economic slowdown still the biggest news influencing Euro movement, upcoming key German and Eurozone data will be in focus. If economic data beats forecasts then the Euro could continue its recent recovery versus the US Dollar. POUND GBP/EUR: Up from 1.14 to 1.16 GBP/USD: Up from $1.29 to $1.31 It’s been a turbulent month for the Pound, with the UK fluctuated before eventually rising as the chances of the UK crashing out of the EU appeared to diminish. UK economic data was mostly side-lined in recent weeks, as markets focused almost solely on Brexit. This ultimately led to Sterling surging to new multi-month highs in mid-March as a series of Parliamentary votes saw UK lawmakers both reject a no-deal Brexit as well as vote to delay the UK’s formal exit beyond 29 March. But, with a Brexit deal still to be reached and Theresa May only seeking a short delay to the end of June, could we see the Pound begin to slip again in the coming weeks? US DOLLAR USD/GBP: Down from £0.77 to £0.75 USD/EUR: Unmoved at 0.88 The US Dollar started out the past month as a consistently resilient safe haven currency that was benefitting from
www.simplyalgarvemag.com
Staying on top of the latest currency news can help you time your transfers more effectively. Find out what you should look for over the next few weeks…
market uncertainty over US-China trade negotiations and signs of a broadly slowing economic outlook. However, over the past couple of weeks US data has begun show cracks in the US economy, stoking fears that the US may not be as resilient to the global slowdown as previously thought. This has prompted economists to speculate on the possibility of the Federal Reserve adopting a more dovish approach to monetary policy, further limiting the appeal of the US Dollar. Going forward, should we see US economic data continue to soften in the coming weeks, then it’s highly likely we may see the recent pull-back in the US Dollar persist. TOP TIPS: LIMIT ORDERS Currencies Direct offer a range of specialist services to help their customers save time and money on their currency transfers – including limit orders. If you have to make a transfer overseas, but the exact date is flexible, a well-placed limit order could get you a good deal. With a limit order, you set instructions to carry out your transaction once the market price reaches your specified exchange rate. Maybe you think a currency is overvalued right now, and want to wait for its price to go down. You could set up a rate alert, but you’d run the risk of your target exchange rate being reached at a time when you can do nothing about it (for example, the middle of the night). With a limit order, once your goal rate becomes available, the transfer will be locked in and carried out automatically. Since 1996, Currencies Direct has helped more than 250,000 customers with their currency transfers. For detailed information and advice, contact the local office and register to receive regular updates on the currency markets and the possible impact on your transfers. (Do mention you heard of us in Simply Algarve magazine.) T: 289 395 739 E: algarve@currenciesdirect.com W: currenciesdirect.com/portugal
41
