Daily currency report

Pressure continues to build on the US dollar as there is still no firm indication that the $700billion bailout proposed by Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson is set to be passed by the US Congress.

Sterling (GBP)

The sterling finds itself on a strong footing against both the euro and the US dollar, although broad-based dollar weakness remains the dominant theme of currency markets at the moment. The Confederation of British Industry's distributive trades survey balance picked up to -27 from -46 in August, much better than market expectations. Nevertheless, the data still represents the third consecutive month of sharply contracting sales

US Dollar (USD)

The continued dollar sell-off has left the greenback lower across the board with still no end in sight to the current Congressional wrangling over how exactly to prop up the floundering US financial markets. Traders are finding little reason to back the greenback on the exchanges.

Euro (EUR)

Germany's business sentiment survey fell to three-year lows and the chef economist called on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates. The comments will land on deaf ears over at the European Central Bank, which has repeatedly stuck to its guns over the need to tackle inflation, which it maintains is the Central Bank's top priority. Nevertheless, the single currency was able to shrug off the news as broad based dollar weakness allowed the euro to make further inroads against the greenback.

Japanese Yen (JPY)

Japan's trade balance slid into deficit in August as sky-high oil prices ramped up import costs while exports slowed to a crawl, adding to the pain for an economy already teetering on the brink of recession.