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Great Britain Pound GBP
Central Bank: Bank of England
Public Debt to GDP Ratio, 2016: 92.2%
Trade Balance, 2016: -$169.5 bln.
Inflation, 2016: 0.5%
Global reserve currency
medium
Currency of international trade
weak
United Kingdom's exit from the European Union
strong
The Great Britain pound sterling (usually called simply “pound” or “sterling”) is the currency used in the United Kingdom and in British territories. Banknotes were introduced following the creation of the Bank of England in 1694, but the history of the currency can be traced long before that, making the pound the oldest world currency that is still in use. The sterling was the most important currency in the world before the World War I. After the World War II had broken out, several countries (for the most part those that belonged to the British Empire) either introduced the pound as their own currency, or pegged their currencies to the sterling. These countries have become know as the sterling area. The importance of the UK currency and the sterling was diminished after the pound was allowed to float freely in 1972. Subsequently, the role of the major world medium of exchange passed to the US dollar. It is still the fourth most traded currency after the dollar, the euro and the yen. The pound is also used as a reserve currency.
The British pound today rallied higher against the US dollar after the release of preliminary UK GDP data for the second quarter, which met expectations. The British pound initially dropped after the GDP announcement before gaining traction and rallying higher against the US dollar after British finance minister Philip Hammond‘s comments on Brexit.
The Great Britain pound gained against its most-traded rivals during the current trading session, rising for the first time after five consecutive sessions of losses versus the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen, even though the International Monetary Fund revised its growth outlook for the United Kingdom.
The British pound today declined against the US dollar and the euro despite the release of positive UK retail sales data. The British pound rallied higher for a minute or so after the release before retracing all its gains and trending lower.
The Great Britain pound fell today, declining for the third day in a row against its major rivals. The euro was an exception as the sell-off ahead of the policy announcement from the European Central Bank made the shared 19-nation currency even weaker than the currency of the United Kingdom.
The British pound today dropped sharply against the US dollar after the release of weak inflation figures by the Office for National Statistics. The major decline in the sterling highlighted the fact that that the currency was extremely susceptible to monetary policy speculation. The weak inflation figures also signaled that a rate hike by the Bank of England might not be forthcoming this year.
The Great Britain pound rallied to the highest level since September against the US dollar during the Friday’s trading session. The currency also logged solid gains against other most-traded rivals.
The Great Britain pound rallied today following the release of an employment report that was positive for the most part. In particular, the unemployment rate fell to the lowest level in 42 years.
The British pound today weakened against the US dollar during the early North American session as the greenback opened strongly against most of its peers. The British pound was on a downward trend during the late Asian session and early European session, before retracing some of its loses during the mid-European session.
The Great Britain pound dropped today as macroeconomic indicators released in the United Kingdom continued to disappoint.
The Great Britain pound was steady today as the recent bout of poor macroeconomic releases did not deter investors from the currency.
