The latest GBP to EUR, USD exchange rates could see movement as markets open tomorrow evening.
The UK will have its EU referendum on Thursday 23 June, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.
Those looking to send money from Europe to the UK are likely to see significant movement on this date.
The pound to euro exchange rate has already plunged from previous highs back in July last year, could it sink further?
Sterling is also at a multi-year low against the US dollar, and with two FED interest rate hikes predicted over the course of 2016, the GBP/USD could see further free-fall.
Here are live fx rates for your reference:
On Monday the Euro to British Pound exchange rate (EUR/GBP) converts at 0.854
FX markets see the pound vs euro exchange rate converting at 1.171.
At time of writing the pound to us dollar exchange rate is quoted at 1.257.
At time of writing the pound to australian dollar exchange rate is quoted at 1.912.
Please note: the FX rates above, updated 29th Apr 2024, will have a commission applied by your typical high street bank. Currency brokers specialise in these type of foreign currency transactions and can save you up to 5% on international payments compared to the banks.
The fact that a scheduled ‘English breakfast’ has been postponed several times is causing investors to speculate that the negotiating parties in Brussels are struggling to reach an accord.
The idea was that all parties concerned would meet for an ‘English breakfast’ once the talks were concluded, but as talks grew more complicated, this became an ‘English brunch’, then an ‘English lunch’ and is currently an ‘English dinner’ without a scheduled time.
The crucial EU summit, which is focused on finding a deal for British Prime Minister David Cameron to present to Britain in defense of remaining a member of the European Union, is projected to drag on into the weekend.
This has had a detrimental impact on demand for pound to euro, dollar exchange rates because it suggests that Cameron will only reach a deal by making compromises to his list of proposed reforms.
With so much riding on the UK's EU referendum, not just domestically but globally, market trade has quietened with investors awaiting news.
Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rate Outlook Neutral to Negative as EU Negotiations Dominate Trader Focus
The British Pound made widespread gains against the majors on Thursday, as a brief sense of optimism that a deal would be struck between the UK and Europe saw traders come back in for Sterling.
The EU Summit began in Brussels yesterday with the Prime Minister David Cameron negotiating reforms to the UK’s membership to the European Union.
The day started positively with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel giving her backing to the deal but there are objections from a number of EU countries, including France and Poland, and a deal was still some way off last night, which saw the Pound relinquish much of the day’s gains.
The UK currency peaked at 1.2960 against the Euro, up 1.5% from the previous day’s low, while the Pound sank back towards 1.4290, after earlier hitting a high around 1.44. Sterling also made a modest recovery against the commodity-driven currencies, bouncing back through the crucial 2.00 level against the Australian Dollar and up 1% versus the New Zealand Dollar ahead of another round of talks today.
Goldman Sachs Predicts Pound to Euro Exchange Rate will Lose 20% Value if UK Leave EU
Cameron needs to come back to the UK with a credible deal to present to voters ahead of announcing a referendum on EU membership later this year.
The government has said it will campaign to remain in the EU if Cameron can secure an acceptable agreement.
The Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said, as the session broke up after 2am, that leaders had taken “a few steps backward on a UK deal”.
The volatility that has engulfed the Pound in 2016 is largely now linked to the UK referendum and the speculation of a UK exit will continue to hurt Sterling.
Goldman Sachs traders have predicted that the UK currency could lose as much as 20% in value should the UK public vote to come out and that would possibly take the British pound to dollar spot exchange rate to the lowest level against the since 1985.
Potentially, even with a ‘credible’ deal following the conclusion of the talks, we still have four months of uncertainty ahead and therefore traders will retain a negative bias towards the Pound.
Investors are already pushing back bets on the likely timing of a Bank of England interest rate increase, the prospect of a vote on leaving will cause further concern, helping to the push the Pound Sterling exchange rate complex even lower against the major currencies.
All eyes will be on the official announcement following the second round of talks in Brussels today.
As foreign exchange markets closed for another week, the pound sterling (GBP) crosses ended like this:
- Yesterday saw the GBP/AUD spot exchange rate close at 2.01502.
- The pound sterling versus the Canadian dollar ended trading at 1.98328.
- The GBP finished at 1.42600 against the Swiss Franc.
- The British pound to euro exchange rate close at 1.29429,.
- The GBP to NZD spot rate finished the week at 2.17245.
- The lira conversion rate closed play at 4.25431.
- The GBP to US dollar exchange rate trended at 1.44064.
- Finally the sterling concluded the week at 22.18943 against the South African rand.
Data Released 19th February 2016
GBP 09:30 PSNB Ex-Interventions (January)
GBP 09:30 Retail Sales (January)
USD 13:30 CPI (January)
- Ex Food & Energy
EUR 15:00 Flash EC Consumer Confidence (February)
Pound to Dollar Exchange Rate Forecast
"We still think the broader technical signals – especially the repeated failures around the 40-day MA through February – are negative for the GBP" say Scotiabank in a briefing to clients.
Euro to Dollar Conversion Rate Outlook
"A low close to the week would tilt the balance of technical risks a little further against the EUR though mixed trend strength indicators suggest the markets still have a lot of work to do to establish a strong directional trend, one way or the other." say Scotiabank.