Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate above 1.99
Bets that Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney will hint at interest rates being increased earlier-than-projected during today’s speech lent the Pound support and the GBP/AUD currency pair advanced by 0.6% during the European session.
If the BoE chief’s comments aren’t as hawkish as investors expect, the Pound could reverse its recent gains.
As it stands, the Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate is trading in the region of 1.9922
Earlier…
GBP/AUD Exchange Rate Extends Gain Despite Sales Decline
The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate achieved a high of 1.9813 on Monday after extending its daily gain to more than 0.7%.
Sterling continued trading in a broadly stronger position against the majority of its currency counterparts on Monday in spite of the Confederation of British Industry’s Reported Sales report showing a steeper-than-projected decline.
The sales gauge tumbled to 1 in February from 39 the previous month as a result of the post-Christmas slump and continued discounting at food retailers.
Earlier…
GBP/AUD Exchange Rate Stronger as Risk Aversion Mounts
Falling commodity prices and concerns regarding the Greek debt deal saw investors turn away from higher risk assets on Monday and the Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate accordingly gained by 0.5%.
Today’s Confederation of British Industry’s Reported Sales figure for February could have an impact on GBP/AUD trading in the hours ahead. Investors will also be looking to the ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index.
The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate was trading in the region of 1.9733
Earlier…
The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate could rally this week if UK data supports the case in favour of the BoE increasing borrowing costs.
Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate Falls on S&P’s Comments
The Pound had spent much of the week riding high against the majority of its most traded currency counterparts.
Although a marked slowing in UK inflation caused some Sterling volatility in the first half of the week, the British asset later recovered ground as a result of considerably better-than-expected employment figures for the three months through December.
Declining unemployment, falling applications for jobless benefits and increased average earnings helped the Pound surge against rivals like the US Dollar and Euro.
However, after top ratings agency Standard & Poor’s offered assurances that it has no intention of negatively adjusting Australia’s current AAA credit rating, the Australian Dollar staged a rebound.
As stated by analyst Sean Callow; ‘There were two interviews with the same S&P analyst, which in full made clear that there was no near term risk to Australia’s AAA credit rating, including in response to this year’s budget, that the ‘risk’ to AAA was in the event of a global shock such as the GFC.’
The South Pacific currency’s advance against the Pound was also thanks to the UK publishing below-forecast public finance and retail sales figures.
Retail sales were shown to have fallen by -0.3% on the month in December and not the -0.2% anticipated.
As any negative reports could deter the BoE from raising borrowing costs, the data did have a negative impact on the Pound’s performance.
Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate Forecast
Influential Australian reports are in fairly short supply next week, although there are some economic figures worth noting.
Monday sees the publication of the ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index and Skilled Vacancies figures. On Wednesday investors will be taking an interest in Australia’s Wage Cost Index and Construction Work Done report.
By Thursday it will be domestic Private Capital Expenditure and Average Weekly Wages driving ‘Aussie’ movement, and Private Sector Credit stats will be in focus before the weekend.
Of course, volatility in the GBP/AUD exchange rate is just as likely to occur as a result of the UK’s growth and consumer confidence figures.
Any UK reports which up the odds of the BoE hiking interest rates this year could push the Pound higher against the Australian Dollar.
Chinese reports and commodity price fluctuations will also be of interest.
At the close of the week, the Australian Dollar to US Dollar (AUD/USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.7829
The Australian Dollar to Euro (AUD/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.6888
The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.9640
The Australian Dollar to Pound Sterling (AUD/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.5089
On Sunday the Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.9630
