It has been a relatively quite week so far with no major movements for the GBP/USD cross. We did see a fall in exchange rates first thing yesterday morning as poor German Manufacturing numbers led to an increase in safe-haven flows to the greenback. Rates fell three quarters of a point on the back of the news before recovering over the last 36 hours but failed to break $1.53, this was despite a run of negative data from the States. For more information on the rates I can offer click here.
It has not been a great couple of days for the States as yesterday's U.S Manufacturing numbers indicated that the sector grew at its slowest pace for nearly six months and coupled with today's Durable Goods data (which came in much lower than forecast) Sterling was able to claw back some lost ground.
For a commercial rate of exchange click here
But with so much hanging on tomorrows UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, market investors would have been hesitant to move into riskier assets such as the pound. If the GDP figures show that the economy has contracted in the first quarter of 2013 then the UK will be back in recession and we could see a huge drop from where the mid-market price currently stands.
What measures can I take to protect my funds?
If you are reluctant to take delivery of your currency immediately you can fix a rate on what’s called a Forward Contract, I
know I have been through the contracts before, but this essentially allows you
to lock in a preferred price requiring only a 10% margin of the overall
trade. This allows you to retain the majority of your funds whilst taking
the speculative element out of the transfer; a useful budgeting tool.
Another option, which can be combined with either spot or forward contracts are stops and limits. Essentially this allows you to fit a set of parameters in to the market placing an order that instructs us to purchase or sell the dollars (on spot or forward) should the cross hit your top or bottom rate.
What to do next
If you need to buy or sell dollars in the coming weeks and want to ensure you are getting the best possible price then use the link below for a free, no obligation consultation. I can then talk you through the different contracts to help get the timing right for your transfer.
Click here to complete the contact form
