Exchange Rate News: US Dollar Declines Before Janet Yellen Speech

Published: 11 Feb at 10 AM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Japan, South Africa,

Pound Sterling
GBP/USD – Trading in the Region of 1.6426
The Pound was able to advance on several of its main currency counterparts overnight as annual like-for-like retail sales in the UK surged unexpectedly. However, Sterling gains were slightly limited as investors focused on tomorrow’s Bank of England inflation report.

US Dollar
USD/GBP – Trading in the Region of 0.6091
With Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen due to address lawmakers later today the US Dollar broadly softened. The ‘Greenback’s declines against the Yen, Pound and Euro were also a result of the expectation that this week’s US retail sales figures will show that domestic demand faltered.

Euro
EUR/USD – Trading in the Region of 1.3672
While the Euro gained on a weakening ‘Buck’ the common currency was trading in a fairly narrow range against the Pound. An absence of pertinent economic reports for the Eurozone may limit Euro movement in the hours ahead.

Australian Dollar
AUD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.9010
Before the publication of domestic employment data the ‘Aussie’ was riding high against its peers. The South Pacific asset enjoyed widespread gains as Australian housing and sentiment reports showed improvement.

New Zealand Dollar
NZD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.8311
Although economic news from New Zealand was lacking yesterday, the commodity-driven ‘Kiwi’ still closed the local session in a stronger position against the US Dollar, Pound and Euro. However, the New Zealand Dollar was struggling against the ‘Aussie’ following the release of unexpectedly upbeat Australian data.

Canadian Dollar
CAD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.9036
Yesterday the Canadian Dollar dipped as domestic housing starts slowed. While the ‘Loonie’ extended declines against the Pound following the release of UK retail sales figures, it was able to claw back losses against a struggling US Dollar.

Japanese Yen
USD/JPY – Trading in the Region of 102.2300
The Yen edged higher against the US Dollar as speculation surrounding Yellen’s speech to lawmakers and the prospect of disappointing US retail sales data reduced the ‘Greenback’s appeal. With Japan’s machine orders figures and tertiary industry index due for release later today further Yen movement is likely.

South African Rand
USD/ZAR – Trading in the Region of 11.0890
Ongoing unrest in South Africa’s labour sector is keeping the Rand under pressure. Although the currency gained modestly as the domestic unemployment rate fell unexpectedly, movement was limited ahead of today’s manufacturing production reports.
As of Tuesday, 11th February 2014, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.2061, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.6447, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.8236, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.9795, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.8109, GBP JPY exchange rate was 168.6583, and GBP ZAR exchange rate was 18.0405.

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