The Pound Sterling (GBP) has slipped by -0.5% against the US Dollar (GBP/USD) today after the US Non-Manufacturing Composite for August fell to a lesser extent than had been forecast.
US Payrolls Data to Decide Sterling’s Faring into the Weekend
The Pound Sterling (GBP) is at a distinct disadvantage against the US Dollar (GBP/USD) going into tomorrow, as the only UK-relevant release is the low-impact New Car Registrations figure for August. By comparison, the US has a glut of impending releases and events, including a speech by Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffry Lacker and the release of the Average Weekly and Hourly Earnings figures for August.
No change has been predicted in the Earnings results from the previous respective postings of 34.5 and 2.1%, so any large deviations are likely to trigger major ‘Buck’ (USD) movement in the pairing.
Earlier…
The Pound Sterling (GBP) has trended in a narrow range against the US Dollar (GBP/USD) today; this came after the US data releases of the afternoon failed to provide a conclusive level of support for the ‘Buck’ (USD).
Potential for Unsettlement if Major US Result falls through Tomorrow
The Pound Sterling (GBP) lost out against the US Dollar (GBP/USD) today although its current losses are not greater owing to the mixture of US results that were announced. The US Mortgage Applications figure up to the end of August rose from 0.2% to 11.3%, but this was eclipsed by the negative impact of the Employment Change for August not meeting with expectations, along with the Factory Orders for July figure dropping sharply from June’s result of 2.2% to 0.4%.
The Pound may yet rise against the ‘Buck’ (USD) tomorrow if forecasts prove accurate for the US ISM Non-Manufacturing Composite which has been predicted to fall from 60.3 points to 58.4.
Earlier…
The Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate dropped today after the UK Construction PMI for August came in with a rise that was nonetheless below expectations.
GBP/USD Exchange Rate News: Disappointing Index Results Hound Sterling’s Performance
The Pound Sterling (GBP) has fallen by -0.2% against the US Dollar (GBP/USD) today; this decline in the exchange rate comes with greater drops of over -0.3% against the Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD), the Chinese Yuan (GBP/CNY) and the Indian Rupee (GB/INR). Larger losses of -0.5% against the New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) and -1.5% against the Russian Ruble (GBP/RUB) have been recorded, although Sterling has risen by more than 0.3% against the Swiss Franc (GBP/CHF), the South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) and the Turkish Lira (GBP/TRY).
The Pound’s overall poor performance has come from joint missed projections in the UK Manufacturing PMI and the UK Construction PMI yesterday and today respectively. The former result printed a loss of -0.4 points down to 51.5 while the latter figure came in below forecast, rising by only 0.2 points up to 57.3 instead of the predicted increase to 57.5. Commenting on the latter result, David Noble, the Group Chief Executive Officer at the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply said that ‘Capacity restraints limited some companies in their determination to actively chase new business, using their resources to fulfil current commitments. Some raw material shortages were still in evidence as suppliers were challenged to get their act together and keep pace’.
US Dollar Suffers from Lack of Fed Commitment as Performance Seesaws
The US Dollar (USD) has risen by 0.2% against the Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) today but has had a highly inconsistent showing elsewhere. The ‘Greenback’ rose by over 0.3% against the Euro (USD/EUR), the Swiss Franc (USD/CHF) and the South African Rand (USD/ZAR) today but fell by more than -0.2% against the New Zealand Dollar (USD/NZD), the Norwegian Krone (USD/NOK) and the Indian Rupee (USD/INR).
This lack of consistency was echoed by the Federal Reserve, as policymakers have lately been offering what can only be classed as contradictory statements. Recently, Fed President William Dudley has spoken against a September US interest rate hike, but Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer has offered a vaguer outlook. Most recently, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren has stated that the US employment target has ‘largely been met’, but like his colleagues, Rosengren has refused to commit to a solid date or the size of the increments for a potential rate hike.
GBP/USD Exchange Rate Forecast: More US Mortgages and Employed Persons may Trigger Overall ‘Greenback’ Rally
The Pound Sterling (GBP) is unlikely to reverse the current downtrend against the US Dollar (GBP/USD) of its own volition today, given that all major UK data announcements have been made. The US Dollar (USD), on the other hand, may widen the current exchange rate gap considerably after the US Mortgage Applications and Employment Change figures for August come in today.
Current GBP, USD Exchange Rates
The Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.5284 and the US Dollar to Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.6543 today.
Comments are closed.