Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate = 1.8092
Australian Dollar Boosted
Several factors influenced the Australian Dollar overnight:
• Westpac Consumer Confidence
On Tuesday Australia’s Business Confidence and Business Conditions reports surprised to the upside and on Wednesday the Westpac Consumer Confidence gauge followed suit. The Westpac measure of consumer sentiment rallied by 3.8% in July, rising to 98.5 from 94.9. This followed the 1.9% increase recorded in June.
Industry expert insight…
Westpac economist Bill Evans notes; ‘The rebound in confidence augurs well for a continuation of the lift in retail sales reported for June, which followed three consecutive soft months […] households do appear to be gradually feeling more secure in their employment despite the negative reception to the budget.’
KEY MOVEMENT: The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate hit a high of 1.8137.
• Chinese Data
The Australian Dollar managed to hold gains even as China’s Industrial Production and Retail Sales reports fell short of forecasts. Industrial production was shown to have increased by 9.0% on a year-on-year basis in July, less than the 9.2% increase anticipated. Similarly, retail sales climbed by 12.2% in July, year-on-year – down from June’s annual increase of 12.4% and defying expectations for a 12.5% rise.
Industry expert insight…
Analyst Jian Chang states; ‘Overall, the data confirms our view that China’s growth recovery remains fragile and is largely policy-led and not self-sustaining as domestic demand remains soft. As a result, we think more policy easing is unavoidable if the government wants to achieve the 7.5% growth target.’
• UK Data Impacts GBP/AUD Exchange Rate
During European trading the Pound extended declines against the Australian Dollar following the release of disappointing UK jobs figures. The UK was shown to have added less positions than anticipated in the three months to June and although the nation’s unemployment rate did decline in accordance with expectations, average weekly earnings including bonuses dropped by 0.2% in the three months to June, a greater decline than expected. Similarly, weekly earnings excluding bonuses rose by just 0.6%, trailing the rate of inflation by quite a considerable margin.
KEY MOVEMENT: The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate hit a low of 1.8019. GBP/AUD falls by over 0.5%.
Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate Forecast
We forecast that more movement in the Pound to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate could be caused by…
• US Advance Retail Sales
• UK RICS House Price Balance
• Australia Average Weekly Wages
• US Initial Jobless Claims
• UK Q2 GDP
It would take a strong second quarter growth figure for the UK to help the Pound recover against peers like the Australian Dollar.
The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate is trending in the region of 1.8010.
GBP to AUD Exchange Rate Forecast: Declination Continuation
Yesterday was a hard pill to swallow for those invested in the Pound. UK economic standing lost balance as poor weekly earnings dominated trader focus and led to losses across the board.
The flaky weekly earnings figures notwithstanding, Pounds problems compounded after a dovish Bank of England Inflation Report saw Governor Carney intimating a change of focus from unemployment to wage growth. This has meant that speculations for an interest rate hike before the close of the year have been snubbed.
With very little domestic data to be released today, pertaining to both UK and Australia, expect the Pound to ‘Aussie’ (AUD) exchange rate to continue on the current downward trend. Friday’s UK Gross Domestic Product Data is now more important than ever to gauge UK economic prospects.
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, 0.9283,
Australian Dollar,,Euro, 0.6955,
Australian Dollar,,Pound, 0.5522,
Australian Dollar,,New Zealand Dollar, 1.1002,
US Dollar,,Australian Dollar, 1.0774,
Euro,,Australian Dollar, 1.4372,
Pound Sterling,,Australian Dollar, 1.8096,
New Zealand Dollar,,Australian Dollar, 0.9080,
[/table]
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