SGM-FX insights

G7   Having watched Macron receive a slap to the face already this week I’m sure many of the G7 leaders were cautious of receiving theirs (metaphorically or physically) as the summit gets underway this week. Thus far, we have seen headlines that G7 leaders are drawing up plans to collectively provide a billion vaccines […]

June 21   The UK’s ability to stick to its intended path out of the most recent lockdown has provided GBP with support. Had the UK missed those dates set forward in the roadmap out of the pandemic, Sterling crosses would be unlikely to be where they are today. The government’s ability to stick to […]

LOOK OUT – GBP TODAY   At the same time as the monetary policy committee at the Bank of England get ready to deliver their latest decision, the polls in Scotland will already be open. So too the byelection in Hartlepool will be underway with parties on both sides of the dispatch box eagerly awaiting the […]

Take off   April is usually a strong month for GBP. Due to the UK tax year’s end at the beginning of April, large corporations domiciled in the UK bolster demand for the UK Pound when repatriating overseas profits. This real money flow tends to provide a significant and tangible bid in GBP that sees […]

It’s a Moderna world…   The whirlwind surrounding the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine continues with new warnings from UK and EU medical regulators flooding in yesterday. Following a review into the efficacy, benefits and risks associated with the vaccine the double-dose shot is once again in the firing line. The guidance from the European Medicines Agency is […]

Head above water   GBP has struggled in recent weeks to find new momentum. Thanks to its somewhat meteoric rise so far this year, this lack of sustained upward price momentum has fuelled second guesses of a correction in the UK currency. Sterling’s range bound existence on a trade weighted basis this month has allowed […]

Budget   For the past few days government sources have steered expectations surrounding the budget that was delivered to the House of Commons yesterday. As with most policy changes since the pandemic begun, very little was left to the announcement itself. The push towards higher corporation taxes, extension of the stamp-duty holiday and freezing of […]

UK Unemployment Since march 2020 the number of people in work has fallen by 726,000 which is a 5 year high in unemployment to 5.1%-more than 60% of those jobs lost are the under 25’s. Within that overall figure, in Q4 2020 the number of people employed declined by 114,000. The statistic that stands out […]

UK Unemployment   Since march 2020 the number of people in work has fallen by 726,000 which is a 5 year high in unemployment to 5.1%-more than 60% of those jobs lost are the under 25’s. Within that overall figure, in Q4 2020 the number of people employed declined by 114,000. The statistic that stands […]

2.3M   In the UK, 2.3 million people have received at least one dose of an approved coronavirus vaccine. Compared with a population of 66M or so, and with 3.12M people already having had the virus, that number may seem small. However, the speed of vaccination, particularly keeping in mind that it so far meets […]

Lockdown 3.0   The UK Pound yesterday succumbed to selling pressure with prices at the 1.37 mark versus the US Dollar rejected. Despite the positive backdrop to the first full trading session of 2021, largely created by the EU free trade agreement late last year, Sterling was hampered by concerns over spiralling cases of the […]

Happy New Year   Reminders flooded in yesterday from Chief Medical and Scientific Officers, Cabinet Ministers and the Prime Minister himself that New Years Eve will grant the opportunity for most of the United Kingdom for quiet and isolated celebration only. GBP was resilient despite some choppy and illiquid trading conditions as markets hoped that […]