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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.
    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.
    Sally Hayden, Director, Putoline Distribution

    Latest News

    • Sterling trades buoyantly ahead of Sunak's statement

      The Pound is buoyant ahead of today’s mini-budget from UK Chancellor Sunak where he will lay out the government’s plans to kickstart the economy. He’s expected to announce stamp duty holidays, job placement plans for young adults, green initiatives and potentially cuts to VAT (around 12.30pm today). Many of his plans have already been leaked to the press and some feel the spending won’t go far enough. Traders will be keeping an eye on the announcements and the more spending the better for the Pound. The mood around Brexit continues to oscillate between fear and optimism. Now the deadline for requesting an extension to the transition period has passed, investors appear to be pushing out the Brexit risks further out into the future. The chief negotiators met for dinner last night and the silence after this meeting could indicate some progress was made. Although separately Boris Johnson told Angela Merkel the UK was ready to leave without a deal at the end of the year. Analysts are now suggesting the business end of these talks will only come after the summer, when we might see bigger Brexit moves in Sterling. In other news, Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world with spikes in new cases and the re-introduction of localised lockdown measures. Cases are still increasing across US States with the Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona causing the most concern. President Trump continues to dismiss the severity of the virus and his government have announced they are officially leaving the World Health Organisation. News of a second wave in Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne, and the resultant new 6-week lockdown in the area shows that no region in the world is totally out of the woods yet. As a result, both the GBP/USD and the GBP/EUR have hit a 3-week high. However, both crosses have been trading in relatively tight ranges with no major breakouts so far.

      READ MORE

    • Sterling tumbles as EU ponder legal action over draft Brexit bill changes

      Sterling has been tumbling today after a controversial bill that breaches parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement (aka the Brexit divorce agreement) was presented before British parliament. Essentially, the draft bill attempts to backtrack on the proposed customs border in the Irish Sea (separating Britain and Northern Ireland) which was agreed by Johnson and the EU for Brexit talks to move onto future trade. This has created uproar from the EU who are now threatening to take legal action against the UK unless they remove these proposed amendments. Many feel the move by Johnson’s team is intended to try and obtain further concessions from the EU in the tense trade negotiations (i.e. either the EU accept these changes or face a messy divorce). The major concern for markets, however, is that it could instead force them to leave the negotiating table altogether. The risk of a no-deal Brexit has therefore been more heavily priced into the Pound which has caused it to weaken considerably. So far the EU are sticking to the planned talks and trying to calculate their next moves but this is an evolving situation and likely to keep volatility high. As a result, the GBP/EUR has dropped a whopping 2-cents today and trades close to a 5-month low. The GBP/USD is down 1% today and trades around 6-week lows. Sterling had now broken through some big technical levels and, with UK covid case numbers on the rise and an economy that’s still struggling, along with already faltering Brexit talks, it could remain vulnerable in the near term. Brexit talks were expected to heat up over these coming weeks but I’m not sure anyone expected such a major twist at this stage. Is this just an extreme game of brinksmanship or are Boris’s team looking for a no-deal exit?

      READ MORE

    • Pound slides as no-deal Brexit fears resurface

      Sterling has slipped ahead of a fresh round of EU-UK trade negotiations and as warnings from both sides cast doubt over a Brexit deal. Over the weekend Boris Johnson threatened to abandon trade talks if they couldn’t come to an agreement by mid-October. Furthermore, the Financial Times reported that the UK government were looking at ways to override parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement which undoubtedly would not sit well with officials in Brussels. Reports this morning that the UK Government legal dept head (Jonathan Jones) has quit over Johnson’s plan to challenge parts of the withdrawal agreement has only added to these concerns as it increases the odds of a no-deal departure. Comments from Germany’s finance minister (Scholz) corroborates these feelings. He said the latest signals from London do not raise hopes for a Brexit agreement and that a disorderly Brexit would be a ‘disaster for the UK. This could all be part of the negotiation strategies but the Pound has weakened nonetheless. As a result, GBP/USD has fallen around 1% since the start of this week and now trades at a 2-week low. The GBP/EUR also trades at a 2-week low, after losing a cent since yesterday morning. Traders will be closely watching how this latest round of Brexit negotiations goes and to see if anything does develop with the reports of rowing back the withdrawal agreement. Looking ahead, investors will also be interested to hear the latest thoughts from the European Central Bank at their next interest rate meeting on Thursday.

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    • Dollar weakens further as Fed signal lower rates for longer

      The US dollar has continued its downtrend today after the Federal Reserve Chairman (Powell) signalled there will be lower US interest rates for far longer. Speaking at Jackson Hole, Powell declared a new policy framework for the central bank that will prioritise reaching full employment over controlling inflation levels. He said they would allow prices to exceed their 2% target for a year to help compensate for previous periods of undershooting this target. This means they’re likely to keep interest rates lower for longer which should encourage consumer spending and borrowing to help the US economic recovery. Currency traders took this as negative for the USD, however, as they’re attracted to currencies with rising interest rates as this provides higher yields. As a result, the GBP/USD has hit an 8.5 month high after pushing up over 1% in today’s trading day. The EUR/USD rate is up a cent and now trading back to that 1.19 area. The GBP/EUR has also made some modest gains and currently trades around a 10-week high.

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    • USD hits fresh two year low against the Euro

      The US Dollar has fallen to a 2-year low against the Euro as concerns over weak US economic growth, a fall in US treasury bond yields and the lack of any agreed US Covid-19 stimulus package continue to weigh on the Greenback. The USD has had an exceptionally strong few years but the coronavirus crisis has hit the world’s biggest economy hard, pushing investors away from the buck. Although the rise in new US case numbers has started to abate, traders fear the impact of the pandemic will be deeper and the recovery will be slower than previously expected. The US government have still not agreed on a new Covid support package after the previous stimulus measure ended in July and the upcoming US election is only adding to the US political uncertainty. Furthermore, money is flowing out of USD safe-haven trades which is adding to the dollar’s woes. Positive sentiment towards the Euro has encouraged traders to sell the USD in favour of the Euro which has pushed the EUR/USD rate to a fresh 2-year high today (and over 1.19). All eyes are now looking out to see whether it can break the key psychological level of 1.20, which (if broken) could open it up to further gains. The GBP/USD has also benefitted from this persistent dollar weakness and it (GBP/USD) now trades at the highest levels since the start of the year. Although some analysts feel bets against the USD are becoming overcrowded, there are many who feel there’s still plenty of momentum and that the move has further to go. In other news, Brexit negotiations recommenced this week and the UK government said yesterday they believe a deal can be sorted by next month. Talks will be watched closely this week after last month’s talks ended with no progress. September and October are being touted as the business end of these talks and we therefore expect volatility in the Pound to increase. Some analysts believe a deal will be struck with the EU before the end of the year but it “will have more of a ‘hard Brexit’ feel” (Roger Hallam, JP Morgan). Aside from Brexit, the UK faces many other headwinds which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. We hit a record low in second quarter UK GDP last week, we’re seeing unprecedented borrowing levels (national debt is now 99.6% of GDP) and we continue to be heavily reliant on foreign capital. The Bank of England remain relatively upbeat on the economy, however, and do not seem in a rush to take us into negative interest rates.

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    • USD weak following Fed meeting; eyes on today's US GDP figures

      The US Dollar remains weak this morning following the latest Federal Reserve interest rate meeting overnight. Jerome Powell, the Fed Chairman, painted a gloomy picture of the US economy and highlighted that data had been a lot weaker since the rise in US coronavirus cases over the past 6-weeks. Although they kept policy on hold, they reiterated their commitment to using all of the monetary policy tools available but hinted that US politician will need to do more to help stimulate the economy. No extension to US Covid-19 unemployment benefits has yet been agreed between the Republicans and Democrats and these are set to expire this week. The USD had already been on the backfoot over the past couple of weeks amid rising US Covid-19 case numbers, an increase in market risk appetite and the continuing fallout in Washington over the extension of unemployment benefits. The currency markets have become more concerned the US recovery will be a lot slower than expected which has been causing a move away from the Greenback. Things can change quickly and particularly market sentiment which has been a key driver recently. Elsewhere, not much has changed for the UK bar news of new quarantine measures placed on tourists coming back from Spain. Brexit talks remain in gridlock, tensions remain high with China and expectations for a US-UK trade deal have been pushed out into next year. At this stage, and without any Brexit breakthroughs, any major independent Sterling gains look unlikely. As a result, the EUR/USD trades around the highest levels since September 2018. The weakness in the Dollar has pushed the GBP/USD up to a 4-month high. Some technical analysts feel the USD has now moved into oversold territory but there’s still lots going on to be overly confident of that. Heavy flows into the Euro have kept the GBP/EUR subdued but it trades towards the upper end of where it’s been over the past week. Eyes will now turn towards this afternoon’s latest US growth figures (1.30pm) for further direction on the Dollar. These are the first readings of the second quarter and economists’ forecasts vary wildly which could potentially lead to some volatility later. Average expectations are for around a historic 34.1% annualised contraction.

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    • EU agree deal on recovery fund after exhausting talks

      The Euro hit a fresh four month high against the USD after EU states finally agreed on a 750 billion Euro recovery fund. It took nearly five days for the EU countries to reach a compromise on the deal – a mixture of grants and loans – as some less-affected nations disagreed with the amounts been handed out. A deal was expected and largely priced in, however this is a positive for the Bloc and shows solidarity and a commitment to the Union from all member states. This has supported the Euro and also the Pound, as the UK will benefit from increased demand from Europe if their recovery is more pronounced. In other news, market risk appetite was also boosted after some positive Covid-19 vaccine trials by a UK-based company. This has increased hopes that a vaccine will be available within the next year. A successful vaccine is so key to markets as it is the only thing that can end the ongoing uncertainty the pandemic has caused. As a result, the boost to risk appetite has weakened the USD leading to a 4-mth high in the EUR/USD and a 5-week high in the GBP/USD. The GBP/EUR has clawed back some good ground and now sits at an 8-day high. Market risk sentiment has been a key driver for the Pound recently and traders will be closely watching for any developments in the geopolitics and also the latest coronavirus case numbers out of the US later on today. Brexit negotiations kick off again today as well. Geopolitical tensions remain high though and investors will be reluctant to get too carried away with the current positive market mood. UK-Chinese relations have deteriorated after the UK ended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and decided to remove Huawei technology from their networks. China have vowed to retaliate and markets await their response. Finally, a report on Russian meddling in UK politics is also due for release today.

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    • Robust UK job figures fail to impress Sterling traders

      UK job figures have been more positive than expected this morning, however the Pound can’t seem to find a break as traders start to take a reality check about the long-term global picture. UK unemployment figures remained strong in May at 3.9% which was better than forecast (4.2%). Furthermore, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits actually dropped by 28K in June from May which was a big improvement on expectations for a jump of 250K new claimants. However, average earnings – a key figure the BoE monitor closely – were down 0.3% which could indicate the potential for disinflation and ultra-loose monetary policy for years to come. Sterling had been ticking lower overnight (mainly due to risk aversion/Brexit) and these relatively robust job figures have done little to boost the Pound. It’s likely traders are largely ignoring these numbers because of the furlough scheme skewing the data. Therefore, we’re unlikely to get a true picture until it ends later in the year. In other news, China has shown a huge rebound in economic growth (GDP) in the second quarter by expanding 11.5% quarter-on-quarter (and 3.2% year-on-year). The data points towards a solid post-Covid recovery, however it seems Chinese consumers are yet to get back into the full swing as retail sales figures missed expectations by dropping 1.8% year-on-year. This last data point has implications for the developed world, which has become more reliant on Chinese consumer demand over the years, and has soured global risk sentiment today. As a result, the Pound has given up most of the gains it had made back over the past couple of days. The EUR/USD has lost a bit of ground but remains close to a 4 month high. Later today, eyes will switch to the ECB meeting. It’s unlikely they’ll make any changes but the subsequent press conference might give markets some idea on how the ECB perceive the recovery is going. Although it's likely policymakers are in wait-and-see mode, as they wait to see how things develop in Brussels over the weekend with the EU recovery fund discussions. It continues to feel that we’re going through a bit of a summer lull in the currency markets with no major direction in the rates being realised.

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    • Weak UK growth figures indicate slower recovery

      The Pound has lost ground this morning following the release of worse than expected UK growth figures. This morning’s data showed GDP had only grown 1.8% in the month of May versus an expected 5.5%. This shows the rebound in growth was not as robust as expected and indicates that the recovery in the UK economy might be more gradual than anticipated. It also increases concerns that slow growth could feed into more job losses across the country and exacerbate the situation further. The Bank of England are closely monitoring data releases and for now they remain sidelined, but the more weak data they see, the more likely they will ease monetary policy and potentially introduce negative interest rates. As a result, the GBP/USD has moved down to a 1-week low and the GBP/EUR towards a 2-week low. Both crosses remain within familiar ranges though, as the currency markets continue to trade with relative calm. However, we expect a busy week in the FX markets with more data and news being released which might shake things up a bit. From a Pound perspective, we have inflation figures tomorrow and then job figures on Thursday – will these disappoint and put further pressure on the Bank of England to act? Over in Europe, traders will be closely monitoring the ECB meeting (Thurs) and then the key European Council meeting to see if an agreement can be reached on the 750 Billion Euro covid stimulus package (Fri/Sat). Finally, US retail sales figures out on Thursday afternoon will give a good indication of how well the US economy is recovering.

      READ MORE

    • Sterling trades buoyantly ahead of Sunak's statement

      The Pound is buoyant ahead of today’s mini-budget from UK Chancellor Sunak where he will lay out the government’s plans to kickstart the economy. He’s expected to announce stamp duty holidays, job placement plans for young adults, green initiatives and potentially cuts to VAT (around 12.30pm today). Many of his plans have already been leaked to the press and some feel the spending won’t go far enough. Traders will be keeping an eye on the announcements and the more spending the better for the Pound. The mood around Brexit continues to oscillate between fear and optimism. Now the deadline for requesting an extension to the transition period has passed, investors appear to be pushing out the Brexit risks further out into the future. The chief negotiators met for dinner last night and the silence after this meeting could indicate some progress was made. Although separately Boris Johnson told Angela Merkel the UK was ready to leave without a deal at the end of the year. Analysts are now suggesting the business end of these talks will only come after the summer, when we might see bigger Brexit moves in Sterling. In other news, Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world with spikes in new cases and the re-introduction of localised lockdown measures. Cases are still increasing across US States with the Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona causing the most concern. President Trump continues to dismiss the severity of the virus and his government have announced they are officially leaving the World Health Organisation. News of a second wave in Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne, and the resultant new 6-week lockdown in the area shows that no region in the world is totally out of the woods yet. As a result, both the GBP/USD and the GBP/EUR have hit a 3-week high. However, both crosses have been trading in relatively tight ranges with no major breakouts so far.

      READ MORE

    • Sterling tumbles as EU ponder legal action over draft Brexit bill changes

      Sterling has been tumbling today after a controversial bill that breaches parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement (aka the Brexit divorce agreement) was presented before British parliament. Essentially, the draft bill attempts to backtrack on the proposed customs border in the Irish Sea (separating Britain and Northern Ireland) which was agreed by Johnson and the EU for Brexit talks to move onto future trade. This has created uproar from the EU who are now threatening to take legal action against the UK unless they remove these proposed amendments. Many feel the move by Johnson’s team is intended to try and obtain further concessions from the EU in the tense trade negotiations (i.e. either the EU accept these changes or face a messy divorce). The major concern for markets, however, is that it could instead force them to leave the negotiating table altogether. The risk of a no-deal Brexit has therefore been more heavily priced into the Pound which has caused it to weaken considerably. So far the EU are sticking to the planned talks and trying to calculate their next moves but this is an evolving situation and likely to keep volatility high. As a result, the GBP/EUR has dropped a whopping 2-cents today and trades close to a 5-month low. The GBP/USD is down 1% today and trades around 6-week lows. Sterling had now broken through some big technical levels and, with UK covid case numbers on the rise and an economy that’s still struggling, along with already faltering Brexit talks, it could remain vulnerable in the near term. Brexit talks were expected to heat up over these coming weeks but I’m not sure anyone expected such a major twist at this stage. Is this just an extreme game of brinksmanship or are Boris’s team looking for a no-deal exit?

      READ MORE

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