Euro (EUR) Rises as German Factory Orders Improve in January

Published: 6 Mar at 4 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, Germany,

Pound Sterling (GBP)

The Pound (GBP) has benefited from easing fears of an interest rate cut from the Bank of England (BoE) today after Andrew Bailey, the future Governor of the BoE, said that the BoE would require ‘more evidence’ of Covid-19’s impact on the British economy before cutting interest rates.

Yesterday’s strengthening UK New Car Sales for February have also propped up the GBP exchange rate today.

US Dollar (USD)

The US Dollar (USD) has continued to struggle against its peers today after yesterday saw January’s US Factory Orders fall below consensus from 1.9% to -0.5%.

Analysts at Reuters commented:

‘New orders for U.S.-made goods fell more than expected in January and could drop further as a worldwide coronavirus outbreak strains supply chains and undercuts the manufacturing sector, which had recently shown signs of stabilizing after a prolonged slump.’

The ‘Greenback’ has also been restrained by fears that the US Federal Reserve could further cut its interest rates to ward of the negative impact of Covid-19 on the American economy.

Euro (EUR)

The Euro (EUR) rose against many of its peers this morning after January’s German Factory Orders report beat forecasts and rose from -2.1% to 5.5%.

EUR edged higher after the Eurozone’s largest economy’s manufacturing sector has continued to grow at the beginning of the year.

Australian Dollar (AUD)

The Australian Dollar (AUD) fell today after January’s Australian retail sales report fell by -0.3% and left ‘Aussie’ traders concerned about the health of the economy.

Also, ongoing coronavirus fears are weighing on the risk-sensitive ‘Aussie’, as fears continue to grow over the Chinese economy facing a setback in the first quarter.

With China being Australia’s largest trading partner, any signs of deterioration in the Chinese economy proves AUD-negative.

New Zealand Dollar (NZD)

The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) has suffered similar setbacks as the Australian Dollar today, with ‘Kiwi’ traders becoming increasingly concerned that a struggling Chinese economy could have a knock-on effect on New Zealand’s already fragile economy.

Canadian Dollar (CAD)

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) weakened against many of its competitors due to falling oil prices. With Canada being a major oil exporter, this has left many ‘Loonie’ investors seeking out less risk-correlated currencies.

Today also saw Canada’s unemployment rate for February rise by 5.6%.

As of Friday, 6th March 2020, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.1559, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.305, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.9641, GBP NZD exchange rate was 2.0516, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.752, and GBP CNY exchange rate was 9.0466.

Latest Currency News Items:

• Euro Surges as Highly-Mutated Coronavirus Variant Rattles Global Markets
• Delay to Lockdown Easing Triggers Slump in Pound (GBP)
• New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Surges as RBNZ Hints at Raising Interest Rates in 2022
• Pound (GBP) Exchange Rate Dips Despite the UK's Inflation Doubling in April
• Pound (GBP) Rises as UK Growth Rebounds in March