Currency Market Update

Some thoughts on the currency market movements over the last week, courtesy of HIFX.

Range of the week: 1.2570 to 1.2647

Variance of the week on £10k=€77

Major news or data for the week so far:

It’s been a pretty quiet week so far as illustrated by the very small variance on £10k and also because of the fact that London markets were closed on Monday because of the bank holiday. There are hopes that the ECB will embark on a bond buying programme to manage the debt crisis & the ECB president, Mario Draghi, cancelled his appearance at the Jackson Hole economic symposium to concentrate on next week’s policy making meeting. This has helped the Euro strengthen a little & hence why Sterling dropped to a three week low against the Euro yesterday.

How to Increase the Value of Your Home

10 ways to increase the value of your home 


Let's be honest, house prices in every neighbourhood have fallen and even the most attractive homes are sticking on the market. That said, if you are really motivated to sell your home, don't forget that there are several actions you can take which will help you attract buyers without having to depend solely on the lure of a lower price.

1. Open up spaces

2. Improve your home's interior lighting

3. Do all those small maintenance jobs that need doing

4. Install energy saving elements

5. Remember that your home starts at the front door (or front gate)

6. Make sure the flooring is in good condition

7. Make sure the bathroom is in perfect condition

8. Use neutral coloured paints

9. Remove any small flaws that might put potential buyers off

10. Make sure the plants are well tended 

Many of the properties that we are selling at the moment are bank repossessions which have been stood empty for several months, and need at the very least redecorating and in some cases a complete reform, so you may have a better chance of competing against these properties if yours is showing in excellent condition.

The midweek currency update courtesy of HIFX



Range of the week: 1.2642 – 1.2798

Variance of the week on £10k = €156

In the UK this week, better than expected retail sales figures have helped to raise hopes that the UK’s recession may not be as deep as initially thought. Sales volumes in July rose by 0.3%, and were up 2.8% from a year earlier, however this was driven by fuel sales, which rose 2.6%, as supermarkets tempted motorists with promotions. Excluding fuel, overall sales were unchanged.

Public sector borrowing fell less than expected in July as the government continues to struggle to reduce the deficit as corporate tax receipts fall short of expectations due to the recession. The ratings agencies have recently warned of the potential for further downgrades for some euro zone countries that are attempting to cut their deficits whilst facing very difficult economic conditions. It is likely the UK is also on their watch list.

GBP/EUR continues to be dominated by the comments and newsflow out of Euro zone with the high of the week reached after comments from the German central bank saying they weren’t in favour of the ECB buying unlimited government bonds; and the low of the week hit after a German ECB board member saying he was in favour of it.

Eurozone CPI, a key gauge for inflation, was in line with expectations and with previous months figure coming in at 2.4%. The ECB target is to keep inflation between 0 – 2 %, so normally you would expect a CPI number consistently higher than this to signal increases in interest rates. However, with the ongoing debt problems in Europe, this isn’t something the ECB are in a position to do. Markets seem to be in limbo waiting to see if the ECB will act on the sovereign debt crisis, as there are conflicting reports from Europe over whether or not they are in favour of unlimited bond buying.