Exchange Rate News: Pound Weakens After Osborne Comments And PMI

Published: 6 Jan at 10 AM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, South Africa,

Pound Sterling
GBP/USD– Trading in the Region 1.6365
After putting in a mixed performance against its rivals last week the Pound edged lower as the European session began and investors digested remarks issued by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Osborne implied that further spending cuts would be needed and Sterling slipped against the US Dollar and Euro as a result. As the UK services PMI fell short of estimates additional Pound losses can be expected.

US Dollar
USD/GBP – Trading in the Region of 0.6114
The increasing odds of the Federal Reserve tapering stimulus at its January meeting kept the ‘Greenback’ buoyed over the weekend. The US currency advanced on the Pound and Euro before the publication of ISM non-manufacturing figures.

Euro
EUR/USD – Trading in the Region of 1.3639
While the Euro strengthened against a softening Pound the common currency put in a patchy performance against the US Dollar following the release of a mixed bag of services data for the Eurozone. Today’s investor confidence report for the currency bloc and Germany’s inflation figures are likely to trigger additional Euro movement.

Australian Dollar
AUD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.8950
Overnight the ‘Aussie’ largely retained recent gains against the US Dollar despite the AiG performance of service index declining. The Australian asset was supported by the expectation that this week’s domestic retail sales and trade balance figures will show improvement.

New Zealand Dollar
NZD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.8257
The New Zealand Dollar continues to trade in a narrow range against the majority of its currency rivals. The ‘Kiwi’ was little affected by the news that China’s non-manufacturing PMI declined but could fluctuate in response to US developments as the week progresses.

Canadian Dollar
CAD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.9423
As last week drew to a close the Canadian Dollar enjoyed a rebound against the ‘Greenback’ as commodity-driven currencies were boosted. Although Canadian data is limited today ‘Loonie’ volatility could be inspired by the US non-manufacturing report.

Japanese Yen
USD/JPY – Trading in the Region of 104.3400
The Yen begins the week in a slightly stronger position against the US Dollar. However, the Asian asset remains under pressure and positive US news is liable to cause Yen declines.

South African Rand
USD/ZAR – Trading in the Region of 10.6360
After slumping to a five-year low against the US Dollar on Friday the Rand remains trapped in a bearish relationship with its US peer. The South African currency was also softer against peers like the Pound and Euro following the release of domestic foreign exchange reserve figures.
As of Monday, 6th January 2014, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.2043, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.6414, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.8311, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.9806, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.7502, GBP CNY exchange rate was 9.9349, GBP JPY exchange rate was 171.0743, and GBP ZAR exchange rate was 17.4549.

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