POUNDS TO DOLLARS EUROS TO POUNDS

IMS FX MORNING REPORT for Friday 19th November 2010

Today's Interbank rates -

POUNDS TO US DOLLARS 1.6080
POUNDS TO EUROS 1.1735
POUNDS TO AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS 1.6260

EUROS TO US DOLLARS 1.3702
EUROS TO POUNDS 0.8521
EUROS TO AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS 1.3855

POUND HEADLINES:

• UK Retail Sales rose in October, ending two months of
  declines. October sales were 0.5% higher than the month before which was a
  bigger rise than expected.
• A separate report from the CBI found that UK factory
  orders declined at a slower-than-expected pace in November.
• Mortgage lending continues to be subdued, the council of
  Mortgage lenders (CML) has said. Total mortgage lending in October was
  £12.4bn, the same as in September but the lowest October figure since 2000.
• There are no major UK releases now until next weeks 2nd
  estimate of Q3 GDP (Gross Domestic Production) figures.

EURO HEADLINES:

• Financial Markets remain pre-occupied with developments
  in the euro-zone, where the Irish Government is currently in negotiations
  with the European Commission, ECB and IMF on new measures to support the
  Irish banks (estimated at around 80bn)
• The Greek Government has unveiled an austerity budget
  that aims to cut its 2011 public deficit to 7.4% of the nations annual
  income output for GDP. Greece had to accept a 110bn euro rescue deal in May.
• German Producer Prices for October month-on-month have
  come in at 0.4% beating expectations of 0.3%. The year-on-year figure is
  4.3% beating an expected 4.1%.

US DOLLAR HEADLINES:

• A number of Central Bank speakers are in action today at
  an ECB conference on 'Approaches to monetary policy revisited - lessons from
  the crisis;. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke addresses the conference and at the
  same event there is a panel discussion also featuring the ECB president, IMF
  managing director and PBOC governor.
• Ben Bernanke defended the Federal Reserves recent plan to
  spur economic growth, saying the strategy has worked in the past and could
  help reduce unemployment in the United States.
• The Fed has come under fire recently for its decision to
  pump $600bn into the financial system by purchasing U.S Treasuries. Central
  bank officials from many of the US 'trading partners, including Germany,
  have criticized the plan for the potentially dangerous side effects.

If you need to buy, sell or make an international payment today then please
call me for a free quote.

Kris Charalambides

FX Broker

kris@imsfx.co.uk

www.imsfx.co.uk

Tel: 0207 183 2790