GBP/USD Performance Chart as at 7:00 p.m. Singapore time, 21/04/11

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HISTORICAL DETAILS 

% Change

1 Wk 1.22%

1 Month 1.14%

3 Months 3.44%

6 Months 5.39%

1 Year 7.76%

 

52 WEEK

High 1.6568

Low 1.4231

 

BLOOMBERG MEDIAN FORECASTS

Q2 2011 1.61

Q3 2011 1.62

Q4 2011 1.63

Q1 2011 1.65

 

DAILY DETAIL

A welcome jump in retail sales pushed sterling up to a 16-month high against the US dollar, with the UK currency’s gain helped by the general atmosphere of improved risk appetite. Stronger food sales and better trading at garden and toy stores were behind the better sales figures, with sales up 0.2% instead of declining by 0.4% month-on-month as had been forecast. A drop in UK government borrowing also proved positive for sterling, as investors began to hope that the UK will succeed in its efforts to reduce expenditure and tackle its large budget deficit. However, a 0.2% rise in sales is hardly the stellar growth that would be needed for the Bank of England to move on interest rates, and so while sterling has been the belle of the ball when compared to the euro today, it will probably revert to ‘dowdy old maid’ status again as investors prefer the European single currency’s higher yield. Chris Beauchamp, London