Kwarteng trashes market bets on earlier OBR report and fiscal plan markets The pound today climbed to its highest level against the US dollar in two weeks despite chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng trashing market expectations of a sooner-than-expected fiscal plan. Sterling surged 0.78 per cent against the greenback to buy $1.141. It has now regained all its losses since Kwarteng’s mini-budget rocked the currency last month. UK borrowing [...]
IMF “monitoring developments” in UK after currency fall and mini-budget markets The International Monetary Fund gave Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss a slap on the wrist this evening, with a spokesman saying it did not “recommend large and untargeted fiscal packages” amid inflation concerns. The warning from the IMF comes after another day of currency fluctuations, triggered by a so-called ‘mini budget’ of tax cuts announced [...]
Hedge funds reap rewards after bets against bonds Plummeting pound A crop of hedge funds have been reaping bumper profits from a plummeting pound this week after wagering against government bonds and sterling ahead of Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax cutting ‘mini-budget’ on Friday.
Pound slides after Bank of England bats away emergency rate hike pressure September 26, 2022 Sterling collapsed to an all time low this morning as investor confidence evaporated in the wake of the government’s plans to slash taxes and ramp up borrowing in a ‘mini-budget’ last week.
Sterling’s freefall is global but there are still markets where the Pound buys you more than last year September 22, 2022 The pound has tanked again against the dollar and is now down 18 per cent year-on-year. As the Bank of England prepares to hike interest rates later today, Sterling has endured a rough ride on the currency markets over the last 12 months. As a result, this is making holidays more expensive in 48 out [...]
US dollar this year has become the only asset in town September 20, 2022 Investors have had an insatiable appetite for US dollars this year. According to the Wall Street Journal’s dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of some of the world’s top currencies, the dollar is its strongest for over a decade. One dollar will buy you the greatest amount of Japanese yen since the [...]
Pound Sterling tumbles to 37-year low against US Dollar after poor UK retail sales figures September 16, 2022 Pound Sterling tumbled to a 37-year low against the dollar this morning, pushed further down by disappointing retail sales figures. It plummeted to by more than one per cent to 1.1351, its lowest against the dollar since 1985, while continuing its 17-month poor run against the Euro also. The Euro rose to 87.66 pence, its [...]
Pound sinks to lowest level against US dollar since 1985 September 7, 2022 The pound today sunk to its lowest level against the US dollar since 1985, driven by investors sweating over the health of the UK economy and a borrowing splurge. Sterling fell to $1.1406 briefly today, marking another dismal milestone for the currency. The last time the pound fell that low was when Margaret Thatcher was [...]
Pound on crash course to record low against US dollar September 1, 2022 The pound is on course to plunge to a record low against the US dollar driven by the UK tumbling into a tough recession, City economists warned today. Sterling will drop to $1.05 by the middle of next year, but could fall close to parity with the greenback, according to consultancy Capital Economics. The downbeat [...]
Pound still at lowest level since start of pandemic amid government chaos July 6, 2022 The British pound is at its lowest level since the start of the Covid pandemic in March 2020 as the UK government faces a political crisis. The pound has slid 0.6% today to $1.1883 as a wave of ministers resigned from Boris Johnson’s government. Sterling initially dropped more than a cent to below $1.20 for [...]