Sterling hits new March 2022 high as dollar flags
LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) -The pound hit its highest against the dollar in two-and-a-half years on Tuesday, after U.S. data showed a deterioration in consumer confidence and as the Bank of England looks likely to cut interest rates more slowly than the Federal Reserve.
Adding to sterling's pep was China's central bank unveiling its biggest stimulus since the pandemic earlier on Tuesday to prop up the economy.
Beijing's new measures - including a planned 50 basis point cut to banks' reserve requirements and the signalling of potentially more easing in lending rates, as well as property market support measures - gave the yuan and other more volatile currencies such as the pound and the Australian dollar AUD=D3 a lift.
By the afternoon in Europe, the dollar was on the back foot after the U.S. Conference Board's index of consumer confidence fell unexpectedly in September, as concern builds over the state of the labour market in the world's largest economy.
Sterling GBP=D3 rose by as much as 0.38% to a high of $1.33985, its strongest since March 2022. It was last up 0.27% on the day at $1.3384. Against the euro EURGBP=D3, the pound was virtually flat at 83.305 pence, also around its strongest since April 2022.
The Federal Reserve last week cut interest rates by an outsized 50 basis points and the futures market points to at least another 75 bps in cuts before the end of the year, which would leave U.S. rates around 4.00%.
In Britain meanwhile, the BoE last week kept rates unchanged and said it would be cautious about future rate cuts. Markets expect just 40 bps more of cuts by December, which would leave the base rate closer to 4.50%.
The prospect of a slower decline in British interest rates than those elsewhere has given sterling an edge over other major currencies. The pound is the top-performing G10 currency against the dollar this year, with a gain of 5.2%, compared with a rise of just 1% in the runner-up, the euro EUR=EBS.
Investors are holding a bullish position in sterling worth around $5.2 billion, roughly half of July's record $11.468 billion, meaning there could be more room for gains in the pound, analysts said.
"We do not see sterling/dollar positioning as particularly stretched and given, perhaps, a softer dollar environment, the direction of travel continues to be towards $1.35," ING strategist Chris Turner said.
Graphic: World FX rates in 2023 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Graphic: Trade-weighted sterling since Brexit vote http://tmsnrt.rs/2hwV9Hv
Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by Alex Richardson
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
