The Pound Sterling was trading firmer against the Australian Dollar on Thursday as the UK currency found support from strong house price and manufacturing data. The ‘Aussie’ meanwhile softened following the release of a softer than expected Chinese PMI report.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, manufacturing grew less than expected in April, highlighting concerns over possible weakness in the world’s second-biggest economy.
The PMI climbed to 50.4, a slight improvement on the previous month’s figure of 50.3 but was below the 50.5 figure forecast by economists. China’s GDP is expected to expand by 7.3% this year, the weakest pace seen since 1990.
Adding further pressure onto the ‘Aussie’ was the release of domestic data which showed that manufacturing in Australia fell more than expected in April. The AIG Manufacturing Index fell to 44.8, below the previous months figure of 47.9 and below forecasts for a dip to 47.13. Any figure below 50 indicates a contraction whereas one above indicates expansion.
The Pound to Australian Dollar Exchange rate (GBP to AUD) is currently trading in the region of 1.8176.
Sterling meanwhile found support from data which showed that UK house prices advanced again and that the nation’s manufacturing sector surged at its fastest rate in five months.
Markit’s monthly manufacturing PMI advanced to 57.3 in April, beating forecasts for a figure of 55.8.
“Demand was both higher in domestic and export markets as the global economy continues to repair itself with improvement in overall output and new orders leading to another monthly improvement in manufacturing jobs. We have now seen manufacturing jobs increase every month for the past year – a natural function of companies reacting to backlogs and ongoing forward demand,” said Jeremy Cook from World First.
Following the release of the data the Pound surged to its highest level in five years against the US Dollar.
Pound to Australian Dollar Update – 02/05/14
The GBP to AUD exchange rate climbed to 1.82 on Friday as the ‘Aussie’ found little support ahead of the release of key US jobs data later in the session. Sterling meanwhile remained supported despite the release of a construction PMI report which came in softer than forecast.
Australian Dollar (AUD) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Australian Dollar,
,US Dollar,0.9300 ,
Australian Dollar,,Pound Sterling,0.5502 ,
Australian Dollar,,Euro,0.6697 ,
Australian Dollar,,New Zealand Dollar,1.0786 ,
US Dollar,, Australian Dollar ,1.0753 ,
Pound Sterling,, Australian Dollar ,1.8176 ,
Euro,, Australian Dollar ,1.4927 ,
New Zealand Dollar,, Australian Dollar ,0.9275 ,
[/table]
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