We have seen some positivity for the pound to finish off the working week with GBP/EUR reaching 1.1370 up from the week’s low of 1.12 – a 1.5% swing or a £1,335 difference on a €100k purchase.

It appears the pound has benefitted from some mixed Euro Zone growth figures this morning with levels falling back for the whole zone year on year from 1.8% to 1.3% against a forecast of 1.4%. The biggest disappointment came from Euro Zone powerhouse Germany who’s quarterly growth figures came in flat at 0% against a 0.2% forecast.

Sterling was also given a boost against the US dollar pushing past 1.25.

Short term focus for anyone buying US dollars and Euros will be the central bank meetings for the Fed next Wednesday 3rd May at 19:00 BST and the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday 4th May at 13:15 BST.

The Fed is expected to raise its benchmark rate from 5% to 5.25% and the ECB is set to follow suit with some analysts expecting as much as a 50 basis point hike. My guess is they will refrain from such an aggressive stance and may look to increase by just 25 basis points potentially leading to some Euro weakness on Thursday.

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