January 2012 UK Forex and Foreign Exchange News Archive

Investment in foreign currencies has hit an upturn as the UK pound, Swiss franc and Japanese yen decline. Investors have been encouraged by better sentiment with regard to the eurozone. A surge in yen trading followed an announcement by the Bank of Japan that it would be introducing measures to counter deflation on 22 January. Barclays...

This week’s announcement by the Bank of Japan that monetary easing efforts will be less aggressive than expected saw the US dollar drop against the yen. The BOJ is under pressure from the new government to act decisively to pull the country’s economy out of recession. The central bank said it will double its target for inflation and...

The yen has gained for a second day after Akira Amari, Japan’s Economics Minister, warned the currency’s weakness could push up the price of imports and damage people’s livelihoods. State Street’s head of forex, Kimihiko Tomita, said the yen had fallen quickly, adding that if it falls to quickly a reversal could be equally fast....

The dollar has edged up against the yen as buyers are attracted to the US currency as further monetary easing is expected by the Bank of Japan. Having slipped to 86.83 yen the dollar ended by pulling back 0.3 per cent to 87.38 yen. On Friday the greenback managed its highest position since July 2010 at 88.48 yen. Credit Agricole’s global...

The markets are looking to riskier assets as the yen and dollar drop and the US avoids the so called fiscal cliff. Tax increases have been agreed to by Congress that will hit the nation’s wealthy. The agreement will mean the US will now not fall into recession. The euro is currently at its highest level against the yen since July 2011...

The euro rose today and was supported by increasing hopes for the Greeks to agree a debt restructuring deal capable of helping the country steer clear of a disorderly default. As reported by Reuters, the dollar extended recent losses versus the Japanese yen and hit its lowest rate in three months after the US Federal Reserve stated last...

The euro has dropped against the dollar as attention continues to focus on a proposed deal between Greece and its creditors. The country’s finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, has reacted angrily to a suggestion that Greece should let European institutions take control of budget policy. The euro has fallen 0.3 per cent to $1.3178. The...

The euro managed a five-week high versus a broadly weak dollar yesterday on speculation of some progress made in Greek debt negotiations, as reported by Reuters. Progress rumours were paired with the US Federal Reserve indicating that interest rates will remain at ultra low levels until at least 2014. Between them they caused the euro to...

The pound clawed back some losses against the dollar on Wednesday, as investors waited on the conclusion of the Federal Reserve meeting.
 
The pound decreased to the session low of 1.5534 against the greenback when data showed that UK GDP shrank more than was predicted in the final quarter of 2011 – down 0.2 per...

The world's economy lies deep in the danger zone due to risks from the eurozone, according to the International Monetary Fund. As reported by BBC News, the IMF predicts that the global economy can grow by 3.25 per cent in 2012, which is down from the earlier forecast of four per cent. The UK economy's growth forecast has also been slashed...

Finance ministers from across the eurozone who have been meeting for talks in Brussels have called for Greece and its private sector debtors to reach an agreement in the coming few days. Although ministers have said that 130 billion euros have been made available to the country, they added that the funds would not be handed over until...

As figures revealed an improving US economy and hopes were pinned on an agreement in Greece, the pound climbed to a high of two weeks against the dollar on Friday. The pair consolidated at 1.5574 by the end of the trading day, jumping 1.9 per cent since the week’s low of 1.5276 on Monday. The upswing marked an announcement on Friday that...

The pound remained high against the US dollar on Thursday, as reported by Forex Rate It!, after a number of mainly upbeat US data while investors kept their focus on the result of fresh Greek bailout talks. The GBP hit 1.5475 against the USD during US morning trade, which was the pair’s highest rate since 11 January. The pair then...

British expats living in Australia and Aussies planning jaunts to the UK will be cheering this week as the dollar hit a high of 27 years against the pound. On Tuesday night, the Aussie dollar hit 67.96 pence, the highest it has been since 1985, and stayed close to that yesterday. A major bonus for both Brits living ‘down under’ and...

The UK's Europe minister David Lidington has claimed that the choice to reject the EU’s fiscal co-operation pact rather than taking part in negotiations was ‘cleaner’ for the government. Speaking to a Lords committee, he said “bad-tempered wrangling” would have been the only result of saying yes to the talks and then no to a treaty...

London is aspiring to be the leading international centre for the trading of the Chinese currency the yuan, AKA the renminbi, according to an announcement from the UK Treasury. George Osborne, Britain’s Chancellor, said England’s capital city is in the perfect position to act as a gateway between investment in Europe and Asian...

The French government is defending its economic policies of debt reduction and reform after the country lost its top credit rating on Friday with Standard and Poor’s. The agency downgraded France from AAA to AA+. French Prime Minister Francis Fillon said that the country had come into the firing line because of its exposure to the...

The euro held its own in Asia on Friday after rising broadly overnight in the wake of Italian and Spanish debt sales drawing solid demand.The commonly currency rose as high as $1.2846, in turn pulling away from a trough of 16-months near $1.2660 that was set Wednesday. The euro last stood at exactly $1.2813, with traders stating that a...

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has said that his country has had to make painful reforms and shouldn't be viewed as being a potential source of contagion any longer, as reported by BBC News. The leading figure was speaking directly after talks in the German capital Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany's head of state said that...

The chairman of the SNB (Swiss National Bank), Philipp Hildebrand, has resigned with immediate effect – as reported by BBC News. The decision follows news that his wife Kashya purchased $504,000 in August, just three weeks before the SNB intervened and capped the Swiss franc. Hildebrand told a press conference that he wasn't aware of...

The euro sank to its lowest rate against the US dollar since September 2010 today. The euro bottomed at 1.2763 to the dollar on electronic trading platform EBS, with the decline expected to continue due to exacerbating euro zone debt problems. The euro’s health is likely to hinge on next week's bond sales by the governments of Spain and...

The European Central Bank has left its interest rates unchanged at the latest monthly meeting it held.The organisation has left its refinancing operations rate at a single per cent. The decision follows two consecutive months of cuts to rates, which were aimed at trying to boost the currency bloc's struggling growth.During a news...

The pound soared to a 15-month high versus the euro yesterday as concerns continued to grow over the state of the single currency and the eurozone banking sector. Investors responded to positive news on the UK economy, sending sterling above €1.21, its strongest position since September 2010 and a 10 per cent rise over 2011’s low of...