The Pounds Recovery?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10737352

UK economic growth jumps to 1.1%

The UK economy grew by a faster-than-expected 1.1% in the second quarter of the year, according to official data.

The figure - a preliminary estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) - was almost double the 0.6% growth rate expected by economists.

It was the fastest quarterly expansion since 2006, and marked a sharp pick-up in pace from the 0.3% growth of the first three months of the year.

Much of the growth came from the key services sector.

Within the services sector, which accounts for about three-quarters of the UK economy, business and finance posted its strongest rise in almost three years, rising by 1.3% over the quarter.

There was a big contribution from the construction industry, which grew at its fastest pace since 1963, in part because bad weather at the start of the year meant builders were catching up on work that should have taken place then.

The only sector to register a fall was transport and communications - down 0.7% on the quarter following the impact of Iceland's volcanic ash cloud in April.

All of which has given another nice little boost to the £ sterling:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/news/business/mar ... efault.stm

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/ar ... _page_id=3
Pound leaps as UK growth forges ahead (23rd July).

The pound has jumped by nearly two cents against the US dollar today following stellar growth figures for the UK economy.

Sterling rose from $1.5266 to $1.5440 after data revealed the economy grew at 1.1% during the second quarter, its fastest rate in four years.

The pound also made gains against the euro, climbing a cent to €1.195 from its overnight level of €1.184.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics surprised both analysts and markets, who had pencilled in growth of just 0.6%. The rate was nearly four times higher than first-quarter growth of 0.3%.

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/ar ... z0uamgiUjL

Well yesterday the pound £ reached US $1.55 and 50 to the baht:

And currently it's still there:

£1 = US $1.55680
£1 = 50.19850 Thai baht

I'm just waiting to see what Bangkok Bank opens at this morning, it's still lagging behind because of the holiday.

There's a related article here:

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/sterli ... c4e96.html

arjay wrote:Well yesterday the pound £ reached US $1.55 and 50 to the baht:

And currently it's still there:

£1 = US $1.55680
£1 = 50.19850 Thai baht

I'm just waiting to see what Bangkok Bank opens at this morning, it's still lagging behind because of the holiday.

There's a related article here:

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/sterli ... c4e96.html

bangkok bank 08.30 this morning was 49.44 bt to the £ thats for british cash .

and 31.85 to the u.s $ .

Well after the last 2 days with the BBC News website showing an exchange rate of over 50 baht to £1, but Bangkok Bank continuing to drag their heels and show rates between 49.87 and 49.99, they've just acquiesced and moved their rate up to: 50.090 (TT rate)

So
BBC:
£1 = 1.56440 US dollars
£1 = 50.45760 Baht
£1 = 1.19700 Euros

and Bangkok Bank:
£1 = 50.090 baht (TT rate)

Well Cookie, we're just about to whack 1.57 to the dollar.
Currently:

£1 = 1.56990 US Dollars
£1 = 50.700 Thai baht
£1 = 1.20260 Euros

Gotta a way still to go yet, but we're moving on up, as predicted.

indeed, as predicted everybody knew that you would keep on reminding us....

but as you know, what goes up will have to go down,

of course we hope that in time you will be as enthusiast as now to remember us that the Thai bath is going up

Cookie . Not everyone is happy to see the pound strengthening. I'm not. My wife has been wanting a new car and me , thinking I was on a safe bet, promised to buy her one when the pound gets to 60 again .Don't know if she has been talking to Arjay but she's off round the Toyota dealers today . Still it could be worse. It might have been the BMW showroom .
So I am praying it stops at 59.

I find it difficult to understand why cookie takes such delight in predicting the downturn of the pound, surely as expats we would be happier for all our currencys to be climbing and to remain stable and giving a high standard of living to us all rather than to take some delight its decline??!!

Tafia, it's more of a political/ego thing between Cookie and I.

Once, some months ago, I commented on another thread about how I felt the pound sterling couldn't get much lower. Cookie challenged me as to my reasoning why, which I gave, (copy at the beginning of this thread), as indeed I did feel there was a good rationale for sterling to recover. Cookie made it clear he disagreed with me.

Since then I have reminded Cookie in posts on this thread as to how I'm right and he's wrong, and he in turn has suggested that it's only a temporary thing and/or that the pound will fall back, type of thing.

Whilst I do certainly think that the pound will continue to strengthen, I believe that some of sterling's current relative strength is more due to weakness of the dollar;... but I wouldn't want to tell Cookie that!!

Thanks Arjay, maybe a little more understandable now, oh and I agree I think the £ is recovering albeit slowly and is related to the weak dollar.

Well the pound sterling has just reached another milestone:

£1 = 1.58250 US Dollar
£1 = 51.001 Thai baht.

.... and still rising.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/news/business/mar ... efault.stm

and some further good news:

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/sterli ... 42704.html

We're moving on up:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10851502

Sterling at six-month dollar high
POUND STERLING V US DOLLAR
Last Updated at 03 Aug 2010, 15:26 GMT

Sterling has risen further to hit a new six-month high against the dollar, with analysts pointing to both rising confidence in UK economic prospects and worries about the US recovery.