Sweden’s Krona traded mildly lower despite the broad-based Pound weakness. At the foreign exchange market, the GBP/SEK exchange rate settled up 0.11% at 12.4012 but was seen quoted on Thursday within a trading range of 12.3370 and 12.4052.
The positive sentiment behind the SEK following the new revelations behind the Riksbank’s decision to abandon the negative interest rate policy has faded away. It appears that the Scandinavian currency is on track to post losses for two consecutive weeks. Against the greenback, the SEK has broken to a 4 week low. After the Thursday close, one US dollar buys 9.4893 SEK, up 0.30%.
Looking forward over the economic calendar in Sweden the Industrial Production data for November is scheduled to be released at 8:30 AM UTC. According to the market consensus, the survey is expected to show industrial activity picking up by 0.7% compared to -1.3% October reading. The annual growth rate of the factory activity contracted by -3.0% in October and it’s forecasted to contract by -1.8% in November.
Elsewhere, the UK parliament voted to pave the way for the UK departure at the end of the month. The United Kingdom is officially scheduled to leave the 28-nation bloc on January 31. The Brexit divorce bill in the House of Commons gained 330 votes in favor and 231 votes against. Before Boris Johnsons’s divorce bill to be put into legislation, it needs to go through the House of Lords.
In other news, the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney revealed that if the economic activity contracted further, the central bank intends to slash interest rates. At the latest policy meeting, the BOE has left the interest rate unchanged at 0.75%, but among the policy members, 2 dissidents voted for a rate cut.
On the technical front, the GBP/SEK pair has climbed to a 4 week high, but encountered some resistance above the previous week high. The pair is most likely to stabilize within the current weekly price range.
GBP/SEK was up 0.19% to 12.4130 in late Asian session on Friday.