GBPUSD Friday Roundup

The GBP/USD reached a daily low of 1.5367 on Friday despite the positive data from the UK showing that public sector borrowing had increased at a lower rate than expected. Economists had predicted a figure around the £12.6bn mark but the actual figure was much lower at £10.5 billion.

The lack of positive impact on the pair was due in part to the fact that analysts noted that the reduced figure was largely because of one-off factors – referring to the tax windfall received from swiss banks following an agreement regarding the taxing of accounts held by British citizens. There was also an additional £3.9bn received from Bank of England's quantitative easing bond purchases.

As well as the underwhelming response to the UK data the dollar continued to strengthen on the back of indications that the US are looking to begin reducing asset purchases through the Federal Reserve’s stimulus program. With anticipated timeframes of commencement of reductions by late 2013 and termination by mid-2014, the support for the dollar continued from Fed chairman Ben Bernankes announcement on Wednesday right through the remainder of the week.