Currency
traders are rushing to take advantage of a rejuvenated Sterling, which is making gains against both the Euro and US Dollar.
The Pound hit a two month high against the US Dollar yesterday at just a shade under $1.50, and Barclays Stockbrokers is reporting a sharp rise in Pound versus Dollar trades in recent weeks.
According to the
stockbrokers, GBP vs USD accounted for nearly a third (29%) of all recent trades.
Three out of five biggest trades
There were also an abnormally high number of trades against the Euro (17%) and Japanese Yen (15%), further confirming the growing confidence in the Pound.
“As sterling has begun to rise in value in recent weeks we have consistently seen clients capitalising on this trend, trading on our FX platform,” says Barclays
Stockbrokers investment head Barbara-Ann King.
“Three out of the five most traded pairs in recent weeks have included sterling and we have seen the size of trades increasing as our clients become more confident in trading in this asset class."
Commercial property another opportunity
In other investment news Legal & General has singled out
commercial property as a particularly attractive asset class in the current volatile markets, adding that it provides “bond-like protection with equity-like opportunities”.
Commercial property is capable of delivering returns throughout the economic cycle, claims Legal & General Property research head Robin Martin.
“UK leases tend to be long and generally have upward-only clauses protecting against reductions in rent, making commercial property a robust source of income during economic decline.”
