Forex

Pound Rises as May Eases Brexit Angst

Published

8 years ago

October 12, 2016

Pound Rises as May Eases Brexit Angst

The pound rallied after Prime Minister Theresa May accepted that Parliament should be allowed to vote on her Brexit plan. European stocks fluctuated as investors assessed earnings for signs of growth against the backdrop of speculation on a tightening of U.S. monetary policy.

Sterling climbed the most since August as May’s move reassured investors that the government would take a more measured approached to negotiations with the European Union. Stocks in the region were little changed while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated to a three-week low. Thailand’s stock market and currency extended this week’s losses after the royal palace said Sunday that King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s condition was unstable. Oil climbed as OPEC received further commitments from Russia that the world’s largest energy exporter is willing to participate in a coordinated effort to curb production.

May’s decision to give lawmakers a say over Brexit halted a four-day rout in the pound that was sparked by concern she was taking a hard-line approach to the negotiations. It’s not just sterling that’s been upended in foreign-exchange markets this week — the baht’s slump sent it to the weakest level since January, while the rand plunged the most in more than three months on Tuesday after South Africa’s finance minister was summoned to appear in court to face charges. That’s helping support the dollar, which has also been buoyed by speculation that the Federal Reserve is moving closer to raising interest rates.

“The vote is a major concession that does reduce the room to maneuver for Theresa May’s government in the negotiation,” said Hans Redeker, Morgan Stanley’s chief global currency strategist in London. “That is currently read as positive for sterling.”

Currencies

The pound climbed 1.1 percent to $1.2250 at 10:56 a.m. in London, rebounding from near a three-decade low.

Parliament will debate on Wednesday a motion from the opposition Labour Party calling for a “full and transparent debate on the government’s plan for leaving the EU” and for lawmakers to be able to “properly scrutinize that plan” before May begins formal talks. In response, May tabled an amendment that effectively accepted the motion, adding that there shouldn’t be an attempt to block Brexit or “undermine the negotiating position of the government.”

The Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the greenback against 10 major peers, was little changed after rising for the past two days and closing at the strongest level since July 25 on Tuesday. Investors will scrutinize minutes from the Fed’s latest decision due Wednesday, with odds of a U.S. rate increase by year-end climbing to 68 percent amid speculation the recent surge in oil prices will fuel inflation, based on futures data compiled by Bloomberg.

China’s central bank weakened the yuan’s reference rate for a sixth day, the longest run of cuts in nine months, amid speculation policy makers will allow further declines as the dollar rises. The currency was little changed at a six-year low.

South Africa’s rand swung between gains and losses after tumbling 3.9 percent on Tuesday, the most in more than three months, after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was summoned to appear in court.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Naira

Naira Weakens Against Dollar at Official, Parallel FX Markets

Published

1 day ago

October 22, 2024

Iyanuoluwa Martins

The Naira depreciated at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) and the parallel market on Monday, signifying more worries for the local currency.

At the official market – NAFEM – the local currency sold for the US Dollar at N1,603.16/$1 as it recorded a 0.15 percent or N2.38 drop versus N1,600.78/$1 it was valued at the previous session on Friday.

This occurred as supply rose at the opening session as turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $359.22 million indicating that the session’s turnover went higher by 2.4 percent or $8.50 million compared to $350.72 million that was published the day before.

At the unofficial market, the domestic currency closed at N1,698.97 to the US Dollar, a drop of N8.15 compared to N1,690.82/$1 it closed during the Friday trading session.

The weakening of the Naira is happening as the nation’s external reserves continue to swell due to lower US Dollar volume sales to boost liquidity in the official FX market.

Latest data showed the balance in Nigeria’s foreign reserves inched to about $39 billion as CBN data revealed that Nigeria now has $38.992 billion as gross balance in the nation’s external reserves.

The CBN has not made do with its promise to prop up the market as it appears to have halted its weekly FX sales

In a different trend, the domestic currency witnessed a flat outcome against the British currency and the Euro in the week’s opening session.

On the Pound Sterling, the local currency closed at N2,153.90/£1 and N1,800.79/€1 on the Euro.

In the parallel market, the local currency depreciated in its value against the British Pound Sterling by N11.69 to sell at N2,213.25/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,201.56/£1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro as it lost N10 to quote at N1,845.29/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,835.29/€1.

The local currency also depreciated further by N8.64 to close at N1,225.82 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Friday’s N1,217.18 per CAD.

Naira

Naira Appreciates 3.6% on US Dollar, Trades N1,600

Published

4 days ago

October 19, 2024

Iyanuoluwa Martins

Naira to Dollar Exchange- Investors King Rate - Investors King

The Naira rose 3.6 percent on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to exchange at N1,600.78/$1 on Friday, October 18 as the local currency appreciated amid an increased supply.

The domestic currency gained N59.71 on the American currency versus N1,660.49/$1, which it closed in the previous session on Thursday.

Data showed a rise in supply as the turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $350.72 million indicating that the session’s turnover rose by 6.2 percent, indicating a rise of $20.54 million compared to $330.18 million that was published in the last trading session.

Meanwhile, the Naira witnessed a flat outcome against the Pound Sterling and the Euro as it closed on the British currency at N2,153.90/£1 and on the European currency at N1,791.06/€1 quoted in the preceding session.

In the Parallel market, the Naira weakened on the American currency as it closed at N1,690.82 to the US Dollar, a drop of N1.31 compared to N1,689.51/$1 it closed during the Wednesday trading session.

In the past months, the Naira has been volatile against the Dollar at the FX market despite interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The World Bank also said the Nigerian Naira is among the worst-performing currencies in sub-Sahara Africa at the end of August 2024.

In its latest edition of Africa’s Pulse report, the international organisation said the Naira is at par with the Ethiopian Birr, and South Sudanese Pound in terms of decline in the region.

However, the local currency appreciated in its value against the British Pound Sterling in the official market by N54 to sell at N2,201.93/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,147.93/£1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro as it gained N4.58 to quote at N1,835.29/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,839.87/€1.

The local currency also depreciated N16.11 to close at N1,217.18 per Canadian Dollar, compared to Thursday’s N1,201.07 per CAD.

Black Market Rate

Naira Gains on Dollar, Pounds, Others at Black Market, Falls at NAFEX

Published

5 days ago

October 18, 2024

Iyanuoluwa Martins

The Naira gained against the US Dollar in the Parallel segment of the foreign exchange market on Thursday, October 17 as it closed at N1,689.51 to the American currency, a gain of N4.41 compared to N1,693.32/$1 it closed during the Wednesday trading session.

The Naira also gained in its value against the British Pound Sterling in the market by N11.19 to sell at N2,147.93/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,159.12/£1 and followed the same pattern against the Euro as it appreciated N8.07 to quote at N1,839.87/€1 versus the previous day’s rate of N1,847.94/€1.

The local currency also appreciated N3.59 to close at N1,201.07 per Canadian Dollar, compared to the previous day’s closing value of N1,204.66 per CAD.

Meanwhile, the Naira depreciated marginally for yet another session against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to N1,660.49/$1.

The local currency rose fell by 0.05 per cent or N91.01 at the window, according to data obtained from FMDQ Securities Exchange compared to N1,659.69/$1 published in the preceding session on Wednesday.

This occurred as supply rose at the penultimate session as turnover published on the FMDQ Group website stood at $330.18 million indicating that the session’s turnover jumped by 86.4 per cent, indicating that there was a decrease of $153.08 million compared to $177.10 million published the previous day.

The surge in supply could be due to peer-to-peer sales as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has no actively injected liquidity in the market.

Investors King reports that the CBN in August re-introduced the retail Dutch auction system with the aim to sell US Dollar to FX users on demand basis but after the market witnessed more than $1.1 billion injected into the system, there has been slowdown in the auction.

In a different pattern, the local currency closed flat against the Pound Sterling and depreciated on the Euro at the closing session.

Trading against the British currency, the local currency closed at N2,153.90/£1 while it closed at the rate of N1,791.06/€1, a N9.73 appreciation against N1,800.79/€1 against the Euro.