Here's your Daily Currency Update – 05 October 2026

• Sterling has had a good few days against the euro. Since 1 October it has moved from about 1.174 to 1.1804 (0.8471), the strongest level in around eighteen months.
• It did not sprint there. It held its ground through Friday, then stepped up this morning.
• The dollar pair has been the quiet one. GBP/USD is still near 1.3230, much where it was at the start of the month.
• Friday’s US jobs news is the other piece since the last note: 29,000 jobs added, unemployment up to 4.2%. An October US rate rise now looks unlikely.
• If you are buying euros for a supplier, or sending money for a property in the next two to three months, this is the best sterling level in that stretch.
• This afternoon’s US services survey, at 15:00 UK, is the one to watch. Wednesday brings the Federal Reserve’s minutes.
• Expected mid-market ranges today: GBP/EUR €1.1655–€1.1800 | GBP/USD $1.3110–$1.3225.
• Fixing it takes the next wobble out of the budget. It is not a promise of a payout, and it is not a prediction.

On 1 October a pound was buying about 1.174 euros, and the dollar rate was already loafing around the low 1.32s. Four days on, one of those has woken up and the other has not.

Against the euro, sterling held near 1.176 into the end of last week, had a brief look toward 1.166 inside Friday’s wider range, and is indicated at 1.1804 this morning. That is the high of the period, and the best level in around eighteen months. Nothing in Westminster did it. Sterling mostly stood still while the euro did not.

Friday’s US employment report was the soft kind: 29,000 jobs, unemployment up to 4.2%, pay growth at 3.0% on the year. The market has duly talked itself out of an October US rate rise. The dollar, awkward as ever, stayed wanted anyway. The euro took the hit. French 10-year borrowing costs ended last week 140 basis points above Germany’s, a weekly jump of 34 points and the largest in 17 years. Overnight the euro touched 1.1161 against the dollar, its weakest since May 2025, and has only shuffled back toward 1.1204.

The week ahead is a short one. US services this afternoon, UK construction and eurozone shop sales on Tuesday, Federal Reserve minutes on Wednesday, US jobless claims on Thursday. None of that changes the simple point for anyone who needs euros soon: the eighteen-month high is on the screen now.

• Since 1 October the range has run from about 1.166 to 1.182. From the 1 October level the gain is about half a cent, and this morning the pair is sitting at the top of it.
• This high was not available on 1 October. That is the whole of the change worth knowing.
• Turned the other way, 0.8471 is the same rate. Overnight it briefly looked even better for sterling, near 0.846.
• French bonds are doing the lifting, not a surprise from home. Tuesday’s construction survey, last at 44.3 and still expected below 50, is the next British number. A soft one would be annoying. It would not, on its own, hand back the move since the 1st.
• A supplier invoice or a completion due in the next two to three months can be set against this level, rather than left to whatever French bonds do next.

Since 1 October sterling has moved in buyers’ favour against the euro, up to an eighteen-month high near 1.1804. Market illustrations only — not the amount a customer will receive.

This table illustrates the best and worst rate over a given time frame — highlighting the volatile nature of the FX markets and why timing is crucial.

The numbers show that movement is real, even when the market feels quiet. Most buyers naturally focus on the rate itself. Yet the rate is only one part of the equation. What often makes the larger difference is the quality of guidance around when to transfer, how the process is managed, the clarity of communication, and the reliability of the people handling the money. A slightly better rate achieved with poor support or unexpected delays can easily cost more than a well-timed transfer executed smoothly.

For early-stage property buyers — and businesses moving larger sums — the real question is rarely just “what is the rate today?” It is “who will help navigate the timing, paperwork and practicalities so the money arrives exactly when needed, without stress?”

Since 1 October that “rate today” has moved in sterling’s favour, up to an eighteen-month high. For a purchase completing in the next two or three months, fixing against it takes the next swing out of the completion budget. The table is a measure of the range. It is not a payout.

Want to see a different amount or timeline? try our useful calculator...

• Since 1 October this one has wandered between about 1.318 and 1.326 and ended up more or less where it started. Friday’s low was near 1.3184. This morning it dipped toward 1.3205, then thought better of it.
• The jobs report cooled the case for another US rate rise this month. The dollar stayed popular anyway, which is why sterling did not get a free ride here.
• The bounce toward 1.3230 is a shuffle inside the week’s range, not a new high. Nearby resistance sits around 1.3265, and it has not given way.
• This afternoon’s services survey, last at 55.4 and expected near 55.0, can nudge this pair. It will not move the eighteen-month high on the euro cross.

• From Friday’s close near 1.125 it has been as low as 1.1161, and the morning bounce has not repaired that. The span is about 0.8%.
• That overnight low was the weakest since May 2025.
• The French premium over Germany, 140 basis points, is wider than it was on 1 October. That is the weight on the euro.
• Tuesday’s eurozone retail sales, last down 0.6% on the month, and Thursday’s European Central Bank account sit next to Wednesday’s US minutes.