Currency news / October 21, 2025

UK borrowing hits 5-year high

3 min read Thanim Islam

Thanim IslamOctober 21, 2025

Market snapshot:

USD firmer as JPY softens

Yesterday's currency recap

GBP traded marginally weaker and USD remained steady after Kevin Hassett told CNBC he thinks the government shut down will likely end this week.

Today's GBP rates

Currency pair	Daily move*	Indicative rate**
GBPAUD	-0.30%	2.0595
GBPCAD	0.04%	1.8829
GBPCHF	-0.27%	1.0625
GBPDKK	-0.06%	8.5994
GBPEUR	-0.06%	1.1514
GBPJPY	-0.05%	202.077
GBPNOK	-0.16%	13.4818
GBPNZD	-0.50%	2.334
GBPSEK	-0.25%	12.6318
GBPUSD	-0.02%	1.3422

*Daily move - against G10 rates as of 06:00 BST, 21.10.25
** Indicative rates - interbank rates as of 06:00 BST, 21.10.25

Key data points

Currency	Event	Period	Consensus	Previous
CAD	CPI MoM	Sep	-0.10%	-0.10%
CAD	CPI YoY	Sep	2.20%	1.90%

Speeches

EUR: ECB Lane, Lagarde

What we think

USD is starting the day stronger, benefitting from a weaker JPY across the board. Sanae Takaichi won the key vote to become Japans new PM and BoJ officials see no urgency to raise interest rates next week.

Data this morning has shown that UK government borrowing reached a 5-year high in September, with total borrowing up to £99.8bn – £7.2bn more than forecast by the OBR. These numbers deal another blow to Chancellor Reeves in the run up to her budget.

CAD CPI is due later today as GBPCAD continues to trade near 9-year highs.

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