Currency Investors Benefit from Slide in Sterling

With the UK pound suffering its worst fall against the US dollar since 1971 last week, currency investors took advantage by trading heavily in GBP/USD. Barclays Stockbrokers saw 70% of all trades in this currency pair over the 11 days that the pound was falling. FX trading allows investors to ‘short the market’ and speculate that a currency will continue to fall versus another currency and therefore gain returns from trading in the right direction. While GBP/USD is the most popular currency pair, Barclays Stockbrokers has seen demand for FX trading surge as investors capitalise on this opportunity. Henk Potts, equity strategist, Barclays Stockbrokers said: “While commodity prices have been the main driver of FX movements in the last few days, fundamentals have also been at play. A stream of gloomy economic reports weighed heavily on the pound, and heightened expectations of an early rate cut in the UK following the publication of the Bank of England’s inflation report, which spurred further declines in sterling.”

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