Australian Dollar to US Dollar (AUD/USD) Steady
The Australian Dollar to US Dollar (AUD/USD) exchange rate opened Friday trading in the region of 0.8709.
The South Pacific currency gained against its US peer on Thursday after the US initial jobless and continuing claims figures came in above forecast levels and Fed President William Dudley attempted to push back US rate hike expectations.
However, gains were restrained as investors bet that Friday’s US ecostats would impress.
The AUD/USD exchange rate was trending in a narrow range ahead of the release of the US Advance Retail Sales stats, moving between highs of 0.8716 and lows of 0.8672.
While the US data could cause considerable movement before the weekend, investors will also be looking ahead to next week and the publication of minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest policy meeting.
Although the ‘Aussie’ has weakened considerably in recent weeks, the minutes may contain more jawboning from the central bank. As stated by Keely Double; ‘Essentially, the RBA is all about maintaining […] stability and stimulating ongoing growth. It keeps an eye on whether factors like employment, house prices, inflation, international trade and currency exchange rates are working together harmoniously to support this goal.’
Australian Dollar to Pound Sterling (AUD/GBP) Takes Advantage of Pound Weakness
The Australian Dollar to Pound Sterling (AUD/GBP) exchange rate was trending in a stronger position on Friday as the British currency’s bearish run continued.
The Pound plummeted against almost all of its currency counterparts over the course of the week as the odds of the Bank of England raising interest rates before the tail end of next year were dashed by the BoE’s quarterly inflation report.
As well as slumping against the ‘Aussie’, the Pound fell against the US Dollar and Euro.
A less-than-impressive British Construction Output report later saw the Australian Dollar to Pound Sterling (AUD/GBP) exchange rate advance to a high of 0.5556.
Although construction output failed to rebound to the extend expected, the data saw economist Michael Dall comment; ‘Despite signs of a cooling housing market, activity within the sector is still strong. In fact, as well as today’s growth in output our data shows that contracts awarded for new homes are up 34% on last year.’
Australian Dollar to US Dollar (AUD/USD) Declines on Sales Gain
The Australian Dollar to US Dollar (AUD/USD) exchange rate lost 0.4% over the course of trading as the ‘Greenback’ surged against its rivals in response to a better-than-forecast retail sales report from the US.
Sales climbed by 0.3% on the month rather than the 0.2% expected.
As the US Dollar climbed, higher-risk currencies like the Australian Dollar declined.
Further AUD/USD losses were sustained additional declines after the University of Michigan Confidence gauge jumped to its highest level since mid 2007.
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,0.8700,
Australian Dollar,,Euro,0.6983,
Australian Dollar,,Pound,0.5553,
Australian Dollar,,New Zealand Dollar,1.1056,
US Dollar,,Australian Dollar,1.1494,
Euro,,Australian Dollar,1.4306,
Pound Sterling,,Australian Dollar,1.7997,
New Zealand Dollar,,Australian Dollar,0.9037,
[/table]
