The US Dollar strengthened against many of its peers on Monday despite the release of negative data releases.
The ‘Greenback’ found support from speculation that the Federal Reserve will soon begin to start scaling back its $85 billion per month monetary easing programme. The Pound fell and remained under pressure following the release of worse than forecast new mortgage approval data.
According to the British Bankers Association, the number of new mortgage approvals fell in to 42,800 in October, down from the prior month’s figure of 43,200, the highest figure recorded since 2009. As a result Sterling fell against several peers and remains weighed upon.
In the US, data disappointed. A report released by the National Association of Realtors showed that it’s pending home sales index dropped by -0.6% in October, well below economist forecasts for a gain of 1.0%. Year on year pending home sales dropped to -2.2%, well below expectations for a rise to 2%.
The latest USD Dallas Fed manufacturing activity data also came in below forecasts at 1.9 in November. It was down from the 3.6 recorded in the previous month and well below the 5.0 predicted by economists.
The Canadian Dollar meanwhile weakened to its lowest level in four-months against the US Dollar and is trading close to a three-year low against the Pound after oil prices dropped following a deal between world powers and Iran which eased some sanctions on the want to be nuclear power.
Iran is the world’s fourth biggest oil producer and as a result of the easing of sanctions the markets reacted to the new potential source of the commodity. Oil is Canada’s biggest export and the resulting fall in oil prices was to the detriment of the Canadian Dollar.
“Canada of course has been overwhelmed by the drop in oil. That factor alone is enough to dampen the Canadian Dollar, but in the medium term, if lower oil prices come through in better growth data that will be good for Canada, as well as everyone else,” said a senior currency strategist at Rabobank International in an interview with Bloomberg.
Canadian GDP data is due for release on Friday.
US Dollar (USD) Current Exchange Rates
The US Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6172 >
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7394 >
The US Dollar/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.05524 >
The Pound Sterling/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6201 <
The Euro/ US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3523 <
Current Canadian Dollar (CAD) Exchange Rates:
The Canadian Dollar/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.9476 <
The Canadian Dollar /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7007 <
The Canadian Dollar/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5849
The US Dollar/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.0552 >
The Euro/Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4270 >
(Correct as of 16:10 pm GMT)
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