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The story behind our name.

The establishment of the meridian lines set the precedent for time-keeping and orientation. Sailors have reliably used them for centuries to navigate to destinations safely and efficiently. They remain central to GPS technology to this day.

Like the meridian lines, we successfully help our clients navigate the complex world of currency and international business; helping them plan, time and deliver their global transactions effectively and efficiently.

About Meridian

  • We've been really impressed by the support and responsiveness of Meridian's team. They've been a key partner in helping us protect our budget levels through a turbulent few years in the markets. We wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them.
    Hilary Hansen, Director, Schotten & Hansen UK
  • Meridian go above and beyond for us time and again. Seamless operations, great to deal with and I know my business interests are their number one priority. I can't recommend them highly enough.
    Sally Hayden, Director, Putoline Distribution
  • If any financial company worked like Meridian, the world would be a much better place!
    Lars Elm-Fich, Managing Director, Tastimage
  • We've been really impressed by the support and responsiveness of Meridian's team. They've been a key partner in helping us protect our budget levels through a turbulent few years in the markets. We wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them.
    Hilary Hansen, Director, Schotten & Hansen UK
  • Meridian go above and beyond for us time and again. Seamless operations, great to deal with and I know my business interests are their number one priority. I can't recommend them highly enough.
    Sally Hayden, Director, Putoline Distribution

    Latest News

    • Pound rallies following robust job figures and positive risk mood

      The Pound has bounced back this morning following better than expected employment data and improved risk sentiment. Data showed the UK unemployment rate dropping to 3.7% versus an expected (and previous) 3.8%. Furthermore, there were less people than expected claiming jobless benefits (-56.9K vs expected -38.8K) and average earnings data showed an increase from previous data sets. Together these figures indicate the UK jobs market is still holding up well despite the Bank of England’s fears of upcoming economic growth issues, which has increased the demand for the Pound this morning. Sterling has also been supported by an increase in risk appetite with stock markets making good ground back and safe-haven currencies (such as the USD) being sold. After all the deleveraging over the past month, it seems the markets are letting off a bit of steam with some risk flows returning. The trigger for today’s change in risk sentiment appears to be an announcement from Shanghai that no new covid infections were found across the region and that their lockdown measures will be removed by the end of the month, which is positive for global trade/inflation. As a result, the GBP/USD is up around 2.5 cents from yesterday’s low and now trades at a 12-day high. The GBP/EUR has gained 1-cent this morning and is up around 3-cents from last week’s low and close to a 2-week high. Market risk sentiment is likely to be the dominant driver of the rates but there’s also some key data releases still to come this week. We have US retail sales figures this afternoon, UK inflation figures (CPI) tomorrow morning (expected 9.1%) and then UK retail sales on Friday morning.

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    • Pound down as BoE warn of trouble ahead

      Sterling has fallen this afternoon after the Bank of England painted a gloomy picture of the UK’s economic outlook at their latest rate-setting meeting. As expected, they unanimously voted (9-0) to raise interest rates and hiked by 0.5% which takes the benchmark rate to 1.75%. This is now a record six meetings in a row where they’ve raised interest rates in a bid to cool spiralling prices. Their latest forecasts, however, warn of a dire economic outlook where they see inflation peaking at 13% (which would be a 42-yr high) and the UK moving into recession later in the year. They’re anticipating five negative quarters of growth from Q4 this year until the end of 2023 and therefore warning of the potentially longest recession since the global financial crisis of 2008. The BoE governor Bailey downplayed expectations for a continuation of these aggressive rate hikes, which has caused a downward shift in market interest rate pricing and therefore reduced the appeal of Sterling to investors. They also expect unemployment levels, which has been relatively robust of late, to start to rise from next year. As with the Federal Reserve last week, it appears that future rate hike decisions will very much be taken on a meeting-by-meeting basis and that it will depend heavily on how the economic data is going. For the foreseeable though, it certainly doesn’t feel like the Pound will be getting any further policy tailwinds from the BoE and that it will need to find support from other areas. As a result, the GBP/USD has lost a cent following the meeting and now trades at a 8-day low. The GBP/EUR is also down 1-cent and at a 9-day low. So, although we’ve seen a move in Sterling, it’s not been overly dramatic so far. However, this might just be the case the market is waiting to see how tomorrow’s key US non-farm payroll figure comes out before deciding on any potential bigger moves.

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    • Dollar weakens as Fed paves way for a slow down in hikes

      The USD has weakened overnight following the latest Federal Reserve interest rate meeting. Although they decided to hike interest rates by another whopping 0.75%, in a bid to calm surging price levels, this was largely priced in and therefore hasn’t lent further support to the dollar. In fact, the dollar weakened following a subtle shift in the tone and comments from Fed Chairman Powell in the accompanying speech. He said they wouldn’t be giving any more forward guidance on the rates and that decisions would now be based on a meeting-by-meeting basis subject to the data. This has given traders the impression that we might not be seeing such large hikes in US interest rates in the future (e.g. less chance of 0.75% in Sept), which has disappointed some dollar bulls. Obviously, this is not guaranteed as the data may continue to warrant a continuation of these unprecedented hikes, but it was enough to trigger a dollar sell back from investors. Furthermore, when questioned about the market starting to price in rate cuts for 2023, he chose not to push back on this and instead just said it’s notoriously difficult to predict rates 6- to 12-months out. As a result, the GBP/USD rate is up 2-cents from yesterday’s low and now trades at a 4-week high. The EUR/USD has gained around 1-cent from yesterday but continues to trade at subdued levels and at a 2-day high. The GBP/EUR has continued its steady recovery, having clawed back around 4-cents this month, and now trades at a 3-mth high. As above, US economic data releases will now take even more attention from investors and this afternoon we have important US growth, jobless, and consumer spending figures.

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    • ECB raises rates for first time in 11 years

      The Euro has just strengthened after the European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates for the first time in 11-years. Markets were expecting a small raise of 0.25%, however they made a larger hike of 0.5% which has boosted the Euro and pushed it higher across the board. The ECB have been very cautious over raising rates since inflation levels spiralled around the world and clearly they now feel they cannot just leave inflation to continue as it is. The ECB also announced a new anti-fragmentation tool called the “Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI). This new tool is described as “safeguarding the smooth transmission of its monetary policy stance throughout the Euro area”. We are yet to see any real detail on this tool and it may well have been pushed through quicker due to the current political events in Italy. So, we shall see what the market make of this once they have further details on it. As a result, GBP/EUR dropped nearly 1-cent and currently sits at a 2-week low. The EUR/USD is up around 1-cent on the day and trading around a 2-week high. All eyes are now on President Lagarde’s current press conference where investors will be listening for more information on this new TPI tool and their general outlook.

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    • UK inflation at a 40 year high

      The Office for National Statistics reported that headline Inflation data (CPI) rose to 9.4%, a forty year high for the UK. The monthly figure showed that the UK CPI rose 0.8% in June, above the expected 0.7%. However, the core inflation gauge, eased to 5.8% Year on Year in June from the 5.9% booked in May. This caused a brief uptick on GBP/USD, but the spot prices retreated quickly, now the Pound is back hovering around the same resistance levels. On Thursday, markets anticipate that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates by 50 basis points. This is providing solid support for the Euro, enabling the EURO/USD levels to move away from last week’s parity. If the ECB do decide to raise rates by 50bp, rather than the more sedate 25bp, this could potentially cause some volatile moves. The ECB are notoriously cautious, and they have not raised interest rates at all since 2011. The European Commission warned on Tuesday that the Nord stream one gas pipeline between Russia and Germany may not open after the planned maintenance ends on Thursday. If this happens, then the sweeping optimism surrounding the Euro may diminish quickly. The USD rally over the last week has been largely fuelled by market anticipation that the Federal Reserve cold raise interest rates by 100 bp at their July policy meeting. This week, market sentiment has retreated amid diminishing odds and several FOMC members suggesting that they will stick to a 75bp rise in July. As a result, GBP/USD is 1.6% higher than a week ago and GBP/EUR is (despite a brief dip yesterday) at a 2 week low.

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    • USD loses ground as rate hike expectations realigned

      Sterling has made back some ground on the USD today, as traders pull back on their US rate hike expectations and market risk sentiment improves. Last week, the dollar rallied heavily – hitting two-decade highs – after traders started to dramatically price in a giant 100bps hike for the Fed’s next interest rate meeting. Before last week, forecasts were for another 0.75% hike but by last Thursday this had shifted all the way up to a 90% chance of a 1% hike. However, bets on such an aggressive move from the Fed have now slowed (to below 30% chance) and forecasts have now realigned back towards a 75bps hike instead. In the UK, with political drama still at full swing, there is still an overall cautious mood surrounding the Pound and we can expect traders to keep an eye on how the leadership votes play out over the coming days. Market risk appetite is still one of the main drivers of Sterling though and today’s boost in market mood has lifted the Pound across the board. It’s a busy week over in the Eurozone starting with tomorrow’s key inflation data (CPI). Analysts are expecting year-on-year inflation to remain at 8.6% and traders will be closely watching for any divergences on this for further clues on how the ECB might vote at Thursday’s interest rate decision. Previously, the ECB have remained dovish towards rate hikes, with rates remaining at -0.5%, whilst their global counterparts have all heavily increased their rates in a bid to coo rampant levels of inflation. There is a split outlook from the ECB on whether inflation is high enough to justify hikes, which could potentially lead to a deep recession, or whether by not acting aggressively on inflation now it could lead to it spiralling further out of control. So, all eyes will be on the CPI data release tomorrow morning, as any data that falls out of line with expectations could have large impact on Thursday’s rate decision. As a result, the GBP/USD has risen around 1.2% this morning, which is around 2-cents higher from Thursday’s low but still only trading at a 1-week high (and below the 1.20 mark). The GBP/EUR is up around 0.5% and remain buoyant, albeit within a relatively tight range. The EUR/USD has regained around 1.5-cents, after trading below parity last Thursday, and now trades at a 1-week high.

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    • Volatile day for Sterling as BoE hike as expected

      Sterling is having an extremely choppy day today following the latest Bank of England interest rate meeting. As widely anticipated, they raised interest rates by 0.25% (to 1.25%) and there were three dissenting policymakers voting for a 0.5% hike. Leading into the decision, however, some traders started to expect that a larger 0.5% hike was on the cards (after large hikes from Fed and the SNB) which led to a large rally in the pound pre-decision. Then we saw an immediate drop back as the 0.25% was confirmed. However, after further digestion of the meeting, traders then took it back the other way with Sterling climbing back towards the highest levels of the week! The accompanying statement from the BoE showed that inflation is expected to be over 9% in the next few months and is expected to rise to above 11% by October. The Bank said that they will take the ‘necessary actions’ to return inflation to their 2% target but the scale, pace, and timing of any rate hikes will reflect the assessment of the economic outlook and inflationary pressures. So, although the BoE are taking a steady approach at the moment, the money markets are expecting them to be more aggressive later in the year, which has caused Sterling to be bought back (for now). Last night the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points – the largest hike since 1994. Chairman Powell suggested that a further 75 basis point rise would happen in the July meeting, although he did say that he didn’t expect further moves to be common following that. This decision has contradicted previous statements that they were not considering such a large hike, however, following May’s inflation report, the Fed were forced to show it was working to control rising prices. As a result, the GBP/USD is up nearly 2-cents from the low we’ve seen today and trades at the highest levels since Monday morning. The GBP/EUR is up over 2-cents from yesterday’s low and hit the highest levels of the week earlier.

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    • Pounds falls as risk sentiment sours ahead of Fed meeting

      The Pound has continued its descent this week as market risk sentiment sours and data points towards a slowdown in the UK economy. Figures on Monday showed the UK economy contracted further in April (-0.3%), which was against expectations for a slight expansion (+0.1%), and industrial production data also showed weakness. Yesterday, unemployment data – an area which has shown resilience over the year – showed the jobless rate rising to 3.8% versus expectations for 3.6% (and against previous 3.7%). Together these figures may give the Bank of England further reason to be cautious over hiking interest rates too aggressively, which has reduced the appeal of Sterling. We see the conclusion of their latest interest rate meeting tomorrow afternoon, with market consensus expecting a small 0.25% hike. Investors will be closely watching how the policymakers vote and the latest forecasts for UK growth and inflation. Market expectations for an aggressive 0.75% rate hike from the Federal Reserve tonight have dramatically ramped up since last Friday’s high US inflation reading. Even earlier this week the market was pricing in around a 25-30% chance but this is now almost fully priced in. This shift in expectations has made the USD more attractive to traders seeking higher yields but also to those seeking the safety of the Dollar, as concerns grow of global recessions caused by rising prices and aggressive rate hikes. With Fed expectations so high, it seems they would need to hike by 0.75% (or more) and be ultra-hawkish on top to keep the Dollar bulls satisfied. Anything less than 0.75%, or if their future rate hikes forecasts undershoot expectations, then we might see a dramatic correction. As a result, the GBP/USD has hit below the 1.20 for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic (March 2020). Since Friday’s US inflation data, the pound has lost around 3-cents against the US Dollar. The GBP/EUR has also succumbed to this latest round of Pound weakness and it’s down around 3 cents from last week’s high and trading around a 13-mth low. The EUR/USD is down over 3-cents from last week’s high and trading in the 1.04s which is a 4-week low. Tonight’s Fed meeting should set up the direction of the GBP/USD for the week, although tomorrow’s BoE meeting could also throw in some additional volatility. UK politics is also being carefully followed with Brexit issues and a potential Scottish independence referendum seemingly back on the close agenda.

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    • US dollar rallies as inflation continues its rampant rise

      The US dollar has rallied this afternoon after US inflation figures came in higher than expected. The data showed a year-on-year increase in US prices of 8.6% versus an expected 8.3%, and a whopping 1% month-on-month. This has pushed up interest rate forecasts for the US, with the market now expecting base rates to be at 3% by the end of this year. This is the last major data point before next week’s Federal Reserve interest rate meeting and it has led to increased demand for the USD. It’s worth noting that US petrol prices touched new highs yesterday, so further price rises look to be coming down the line, which is only going to give the Fed further headaches. Yesterday the ECB said they were likely to raise rates by 0.25% in July, which would be their first rate rise since the pandemic began. However, they didn’t give markets confidence they would hike by another 0.5% at their September meeting which, along with downgraded growth forecasts, caused the Euro to lose ground. There’s a lot of concern that central banks are going to hike interest rates up so much that it will tip their economies into recession, but with such spiralling prices (and having to play catch up) their hands are being forced. The Eurozone economy could be particularly vulnerable to this as it might trigger another sovereign debt crisis, particularly with the more indebted economies in the Bloc. As a result, the GBP/USD has fallen nearly 1.35% today and trades at a 3-week low. The EUR/USD has fallen 2-cents from yesterday’s high and now trades at a 3-week low. The GBP/EUR continues to trade within a relatively tight range (roughly 1-cent range). Next up we have UK growth data on Monday and the all-important Federal Reserve and BoE interest rate meetings next Wednesday and Thursday respectively. So, things could remain volatile well into next week.

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    • Pound rallies following robust job figures and positive risk mood

      The Pound has bounced back this morning following better than expected employment data and improved risk sentiment. Data showed the UK unemployment rate dropping to 3.7% versus an expected (and previous) 3.8%. Furthermore, there were less people than expected claiming jobless benefits (-56.9K vs expected -38.8K) and average earnings data showed an increase from previous data sets. Together these figures indicate the UK jobs market is still holding up well despite the Bank of England’s fears of upcoming economic growth issues, which has increased the demand for the Pound this morning. Sterling has also been supported by an increase in risk appetite with stock markets making good ground back and safe-haven currencies (such as the USD) being sold. After all the deleveraging over the past month, it seems the markets are letting off a bit of steam with some risk flows returning. The trigger for today’s change in risk sentiment appears to be an announcement from Shanghai that no new covid infections were found across the region and that their lockdown measures will be removed by the end of the month, which is positive for global trade/inflation. As a result, the GBP/USD is up around 2.5 cents from yesterday’s low and now trades at a 12-day high. The GBP/EUR has gained 1-cent this morning and is up around 3-cents from last week’s low and close to a 2-week high. Market risk sentiment is likely to be the dominant driver of the rates but there’s also some key data releases still to come this week. We have US retail sales figures this afternoon, UK inflation figures (CPI) tomorrow morning (expected 9.1%) and then UK retail sales on Friday morning.

      READ MORE

    • Pound down as BoE warn of trouble ahead

      Sterling has fallen this afternoon after the Bank of England painted a gloomy picture of the UK’s economic outlook at their latest rate-setting meeting. As expected, they unanimously voted (9-0) to raise interest rates and hiked by 0.5% which takes the benchmark rate to 1.75%. This is now a record six meetings in a row where they’ve raised interest rates in a bid to cool spiralling prices. Their latest forecasts, however, warn of a dire economic outlook where they see inflation peaking at 13% (which would be a 42-yr high) and the UK moving into recession later in the year. They’re anticipating five negative quarters of growth from Q4 this year until the end of 2023 and therefore warning of the potentially longest recession since the global financial crisis of 2008. The BoE governor Bailey downplayed expectations for a continuation of these aggressive rate hikes, which has caused a downward shift in market interest rate pricing and therefore reduced the appeal of Sterling to investors. They also expect unemployment levels, which has been relatively robust of late, to start to rise from next year. As with the Federal Reserve last week, it appears that future rate hike decisions will very much be taken on a meeting-by-meeting basis and that it will depend heavily on how the economic data is going. For the foreseeable though, it certainly doesn’t feel like the Pound will be getting any further policy tailwinds from the BoE and that it will need to find support from other areas. As a result, the GBP/USD has lost a cent following the meeting and now trades at a 8-day low. The GBP/EUR is also down 1-cent and at a 9-day low. So, although we’ve seen a move in Sterling, it’s not been overly dramatic so far. However, this might just be the case the market is waiting to see how tomorrow’s key US non-farm payroll figure comes out before deciding on any potential bigger moves.

      READ MORE

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