As political concerns intensify in Italy and the US, investors turned from higher-risk assets and the ‘Aussie’ consequently softened against the Pound and ‘Greenback’ during the local session.
The Australian Dollar exchange rate was trading in the region of 0.5766 against the British Pound as of 10:10 am GMT
While controversial political figure Silvio Berlusconi encouraged the resignation of five Italian ministers, throwing the political future of the European nation in doubt, US lawmakers have just one day remaining in which to reach an agreement regarding the budget of the world’s largest economy. If no solution is reached the US federal government could shut down for the first time in 17 years, casting a shadow on the continuing progress of the US economic recovery.
As analyst Chris Tedder observed; ‘We’ve got the continuing negotiations between the Republicans and Democrats and whether they can avoid a partial government shut down. In Italy, the political wrangling is causing some disruption in peripheral bond markets throughout Europe and there’s concern that could weigh on overall sentiment.’
Meanwhile, China’s HSBC/Markit manufacturing PMI for September also failed to reach estimates, adversely affecting Australia’s trade prospects and weighing on the nation’s currency.
While economists expected PMI to advance from Augusts’ 50.1 to 51.2 it only strengthened to 50.2.
In a statement published with the data HSBC economist Hongbin Qu asserted; ‘The September HSBC China manufacturing PMI edged up slightly from August. New orders remained flat from the previous month, while external demand improved. Manufacturers restocking process continued but remained relatively slow. Growth is bottoming out on Beijing’s mini-stimulus. We expect continuous policy efforts to sustain the recovery.’
The Australian Dollar to Pound Sterling (AUD/GBP) exchange rate hit a low of 0.5736
Although the ‘Aussie’ recovered some ground as the Australasian session ended and European trading kicked off, positive UK news kept the pressure on the AUD/GBP pairing.
Separate reports showed that UK house prices surged by the most for six years while UK mortgage approvals increased by a larger-than-forecast 62,200 in August. Both sets of data supported the Pound ahead of this week’s influential UK manufacturing, construction and services PMI reports.
Australian data to look out for this week includes tomorrow’s AiG performance of manufacturing index and retail sales figures, Wednesday’s new home sales, building approvals and trade balance reports and Thursday’s AiG performance of services index.
Current Exchange Australian Dollar (AUD) Rates
< Lower > Higher
The Australian Dollar/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.9324 >
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6895 <
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5766 <
The Australian Dollar/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1262 >
The US Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0724 <
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4482 >
The Pound Sterling /Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.7320 >
The New Zealand Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8894 >
Correct as of 10:10 am GMT
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