SGM-FX insights

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 […]

Finally   FX markets have begun their first proper trading day secure in the knowledge that the United Kingdom will have a trade deal above WTO standards with respect to the EU-27 come 1st January. So far there hasn’t been a huge sigh of relief evident within the Pound but it is evident that, in […]

What a Load of Carp   Christmas is Cancelled! Well, not quite yet, but the reality for Members of Parliament is that a few days of their Christmas break could be revoked next week should the United Kingdom and European Union come to an agreement on a trade deal soon. These rumours began to gather […]

UK Hiring   While still 10% below last year, evidence is mounting that hiring is back in some sectors of the UK economy, and is at its highest since March: media and communications +41%, finance +24%, law +42% . At the other end of the scale, retail, recreation and travel are flat to small minus. […]