Bank of England Quarterly Inflation report, EU GDP figures and the Australian Budget. Busy week on the currency markets! (Mike Vaughan)

Sterling started the week poorly against a number of currencies falling against the Euro and US dollar but continuing its recent resurgence against the Australian dollar. This week there is plenty of data to keep anyone with a keen eye on the money markets with some of the notable data sets as follow:

- Today 09:30 BST - Australia will release its yearly budget. This will be keenly viewed as the Australian government faces questions about its handling of the economy ahead of elections later this year. With the economy having been affected by weaker global forecasts and in particular from China, for which the Australian economy is heaviliy reliant, the outcome of the budget could be very interesting. Some analysts say that while the mining sector has been the driving force behind Australia’s steady economic expansion, other parts of the economy have stagnated or grown much less quickly. A key reason has been the strength of the AUD and the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) have been open in highlighting their concerns and may act to devalue the dollar, potentially good news for those buying dollars.

-  Wednesday 10:00 BST- anyone with an interest in the Euro should watch out for EU GDP figures. Figures are expected to stay at -0.9% but any deviation from the expected figure and watch out for volatility on Euro exchange rates.

- Wednesday 09:30 BST – UK unemployment figures expected to stay at 7.9%

- Wednesday 10:30 BST – Bank of England Quarterly Inflation report and Mervyn King press conference. The BofE publishes a report of the detailed economic analysis and inflation projections on which the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee bases its interest rate decisions, and presents an assessment of the prospects for UK inflation over the following two years. Watch out for any clues with regards to QE, I personally believe the Bank will stay firm on its current p[olicies until the new governor Mark Carney takes over from Mervyn King in July.

- Friday 00:45 BST – Japan GDP release, expected to show an increase from a flat 0% to 0.7%.

- Friday 13:30 BST -  to finish off the week on Friday we have inflation figures and unemployment data from the US at 13:30 BST.

As you can see we have plenty of data released for the rest of the week. To be kept up to date with the impact these data sets may have for your individual requirement then please contact me and I will happily run though my forecasts and run through the various contracts we can offer to help maximise your currency exchange. I am very confident I can help achieve a better rate than your current provider. Please call the office on +44 (0)1494 787478 or email me (Mike) with a brief overview of your requirement and I will gladly contact you to help with your money exchange. I can be reached at [email protected]