While the Australian Dollar closed local trading slightly stronger against the Pound as increased risk sentiment and encouraging Chinese data lent the South Pacific asset support, Sterling recovered ground as the European session progressed and investors began looking ahead to today’s UK news.
The Australian Dollar was trading in the region of 0.5946 against the British Pound as of 10:40 am GMT
Overnight the ‘Aussie’ rallied against peers like the Pound and US Dollar as less-than-impressive US economic data supported the case for the Federal Reserve delaying the tapering of easing until next year and boosted higher-risk currencies.
Stronger than anticipated HSBC/Markit manufacturing PMI for China also helped the Australian Dollar advance during the Australasian session. The gauge of manufacturing output came in at 50.9, up from 50.2 in September and higher than the 50.4 forecast.
In a statement issued with the Chinese report economist Hongbin Qu commented; ‘October’s HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI rose to a seven-month high of 50.9 on the back of broad-based modest improvements. This implies that China’s growth recovery is becoming consolidated into 4Q after bottoming out in 3Q. The momentum is likely to continue in the coming months, creating favourable conditions for speeding up structural reforms.’
As China is Australia’s main trading partner this optimistic report bodes well for the latter nation’s trade prospects.
However, while these developments helped the ‘Aussie’ strengthen against the US Dollar, gains against the Pound were short lived as investors turned their focus to Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s speech, taking place in London later today.
The Australian Dollar to Pound Sterling (AUD/GBP) exchange rate hit a high of 0.5985
The expectation that tomorrow’s GDP report will show that the UK economy expanded by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter also lent Sterling support.
If the UK growth report meets expectations it will be Britain’s best quarterly growth since 2010, and with no Australian data due for release before the weekend the GBP/AUD pairing has a neutral/positive outlook.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Dollar strengthened against several of its most traded peers as domestic trade data exceeded estimates.
New Zealand’s trade deficit narrowed by more than forecast last month due to a surge in exports of 17 per cent, aided by an increase in exports to China.
But while the ‘Kiwi’ retained gains against the US Dollar into the European session, like its Australian counterpart it declined against the Pound as investors speculated on the outcome of UK data releases.
Current Australian Dollar Exchange (AUD) Rates
< Lower > Higher
The Australian Dollar/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.9623 <
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6978 <
The Australian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5946 <
The Australian Dollar/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1456 <
The US Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0399 >
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4339 >
The Pound Sterling /Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6819 >
The New Zealand Dollar/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8711 <
Correct as of 10:40 am GMT
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