Here's your Daily Currency Update – 17 September 2026

• The Bank of England has just held Bank Rate at 3.75%, matching the widely expected outcome.
• That follows yesterday’s Federal Reserve hike of 25bp to 3.75–4.00% — the Fed’s first increase since 2023.
• Since Tuesday, sterling’s main move has been against the dollar, not the euro: GBP/USD fell after CPI and the Fed, then steadied into today’s hold.
• UK CPI printed 3.1% yesterday, exactly as forecast; core stayed at 2.6%.
• Immediate market reaction to the hold has been orderly rather than dramatic; attention now turns to the minutes, any QT update and this afternoon’s US data.
• Friday’s UK retail sales close the week.
• Current mid-market ranges: GBP/EUR €1.1550–€1.1667 | GBP/USD $1.3310–$1.3410.
• New in this report: Property Buyer Spotlight – see the real 1-week, 1-month and 3-month high/low ranges and what they mean for a £250,000 transfer.

Two central banks have now spoken in 24 hours, and they did not move together. Yesterday the Fed raised rates by a quarter point to 3.75–4.00%, a unanimous vote and the first hike since July 2023. The dollar firmed and GBP/USD dropped from the mid-1.34s into the 1.337 area. This morning the Bank of England kept Bank Rate at 3.75%. That was the outcome markets had priced as the base case after Wednesday’s in-line 3.1% CPI print. Sterling has recovered a little against the dollar into the announcement, while GBP/EUR has stayed in a tight range. Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s comments yesterday about “difficult decisions” ahead of the Budget remain the main political backdrop, but today’s price action is about policy, not politics. US jobless claims and housing data are due at 13:30 UK; UK retail sales follow on Friday.

• The BoE hold did not jolt the cross; the pair has traded a few pips either side of 1.167 all morning.
• Yesterday’s UK CPI rise to 3.1% was fuel-heavy and left core unchanged at 2.6%, so it did not reprice sterling versus the euro.
• The euro’s own final August CPI confirmation this morning was also a non-event for the cross.
• Any lasting GBP/EUR move now depends less on the rate number and more on the minutes, the vote split and whether gilt-sale plans (QT) are slowed from the current £70bn annual pace.

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 buyers the real question is rarely just “what is the rate today?” It is “who will help me navigate the timing, the paperwork and the practicalities so that the money arrives exactly when it is needed, without stress?”

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

• Tuesday’s starting point was a relatively calm mid-1.34s tape.
• Wednesday’s sequence did the damage: UK CPI in line at 3.1%, then the Fed’s 25bp hike. Cable fell through the session to the 1.337 area.
• Overnight it found a floor near 1.3369. This morning’s recovery to 1.3402 came into the BoE hold, not as a shock after it.
• The hold removes the small chance of a same-day UK hike sitting on top of yesterday’s US hike. That is why the immediate reaction has been a grind higher rather than a spike.
• 13:30 UK brings US claims, housing starts and the Philadelphia Fed index — the next dollar test.

• The euro took the same dollar punch as sterling after yesterday’s Fed decision.
• Final eurozone CPI this morning did not change the picture.
• Divergence versus sterling remains modest: both European currencies lost ground to the dollar together after the hike, and both have only partially retraced.
• Afternoon US data and Friday’s Bank of Japan decision keep the dollar in charge into the weekend.