EUR Boosted by Greek News, AUD Drops as Trade Deficit Widens

Published: 2 Apr at 9 AM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, Greece,

Pound Sterling
With a televised political debate (featuring all seven of the UK’s leading parties) looming, the Pound softened. The British asset lost ground yesterday as a result of political concerns and failed to benefit from an 8-month high Manufacturing PMI. Today’s construction report could give Sterling a small boost if it prints above expected levels.

Euro
After Greece presented its creditors with a list of reforms, risk aversion declined and the Euro was able to consolidate previous gains against peers like the Pound and US Dollar. With economic reports for the Eurozone in short supply today, any further fluctuations in the common currency will be the result of Greek news and global economic developments.

US Dollar
This week several US reports have printed below forecast levels, bringing the prospect of a June rate hike from the Federal Reserve into question. On Wednesday the ISM Manufacturing index eased to an almost 2-year low and the ADP Employment Change report showed that the US added fewer-than-forecast positions. If today’s US Factory Orders data also disappoints, the ‘Greenback’ could dip ahead of Friday’s influential US Non-Farm payrolls data.

Australian Dollar
A notable widening in Australia’s trade deficit put the ‘Aussie’ under intense pressure on Thursday. The South Pacific asset moved to within touching distance of a six-year low against the US Dollar and may extend declines if tomorrow’s Chinese Services/Composite PMI’s fail to show improvement.

New Zealand Dollar
New Zealand’s commodity price report gave the ‘Kiwi’ a leg up during local trading as it showed a 4.6% increase in March. The data pushed the New Zealand Dollar higher against peers like the Pound, US Dollar and Euro.

Canadian Dollar
As the Royal Bank of Canada’s latest manufacturing report showed a slight improvement, the Canadian Dollar was able to advance on Wednesday. The largest one-day gain in oil prices for two months also pushed the ‘Loonie’ higher, although the asset fell back again on Thursday.
As of Thursday, 2nd April 2015, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.3639, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.4835, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.9561, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.9758, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.8636, and GBP CNY exchange rate was 9.1931.

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