Subscriber login Close [x]
remember me
You are not logged in.

Sterling falls to eight month low against US dollar

Published:  13 September, 2011

Sterling hit a six month high against the euro yesterday morning of €1.1724/£1, but fell to the lowest level against the US dollar since January.

Sterling hit a six month high against the euro yesterday morning of €1.1724/£1, but fell to the lowest level against the US dollar since January.

Currency rates

EURO/GBP - 1.1602
US$/GBP
- 1.5823

CHF/GBP - 1.3989
CAN$/GBP
- 1.5714
AUS$/GBP
- 1.5311
ZAR/GBP
- 11.708

JPY/GBP - 121.855
HKD/GBP
- 12.351

NZD/GBP - 1.9218
SEK/GBP
- 10.592
US$/EURO
- 1.3638

After a fresh bout of concerns over Greece's ability to pay its debts, sterling gained but slipped back after investors cooled earlier negativity towards the single currency. Sterling also came under pressure against the US dollar over rumours that in order to boost the economy the Bank of England would inject a fresh round of Quantitative Easing. Whilst the euro zone crisis should be good for sterling, Europe is one of the UK's largest trade partners so it is in the UK's interest for the region to stabilise. 

In the euro zone, markets plummeted as investors yet again became concerned over the ability of Greece to repay its debt and may yet again struggle to gain the next tranche of its international bailout package. This put pressure on the single currency and wasn't helped by speculation over an imminent credit rating downgrade of major French banks due to their Greek exposure. Athens only has a few weeks' cash left.

In the USA, the US dollar hit a seven month high against the euro as investors looked to the relative safe haven of the US currency on further concerns over a potential Greek default. 

Elsewhere, the Swiss franc strengthened against the US dollar as investors looked for safe havens and the Australian dollar fell to a one month low against the US currency - a measure of the lack of risk appetite. 


Smart Currency Exchange is a currency partner to Harpers Wine and Spirit. Harpers Wine and Spirit has teamed up with Smart to provide readers with a free bespoke currency service. www.SmartWineSpirits.com


Keywords: