US Dollar on Bullish Form after Fed Comments, Canadian Dollar Gains with Oil Rally

Published: 13 Apr at 5 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, Greece, Italy,

Pound Sterling Muted ahead of BoE Policy Meeting

With no domestic data to drive movement the Pound has been on mixed form today. ‘Brexit’ uncertainty continues to exert downwards pressure on the currency, as polls suggest that the outcome of the June referendum is increasingly tight. As it doesn’t seem likely that the Bank of England (BoE) will particularly shift its stance on Thursday the mood towards Sterling could remain muted ahead of the weekend.

Eurozone Industrial Production Surprises on Downside to Dent Euro

Confidence in the single currency continued to decline on Wednesday after the latest Eurozone industrial production figures proved disappointing. As output fell further than forecast from 2.9% to 0.8% the outlook of the currency union weakened. With fresh warnings from the IMF over the health of the Italian banking sector and persistent concerns regarding Greece there has been little reason to favour the Euro today.

US Dollar Buoyed by Hawkish Fed Talk

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker encouraged a surge in US Dollar bullishness overnight by suggesting that he would like to see four interest rate hikes in 2016. While Lacker is not a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) at present this was not enough to prevent the ‘Greenback’ from rallying sharply. A weaker US Advance Retail Sales figure equally failed to dampen demand for the US Dollar on Wednesday, as markets remained defiantly optimistic.

Australian Dollar Weakens with Disappointing Consumer Confidence

China’s latest trade data seemed to encourage risk appetite, with exports showing a strong recovery on the year in March. However, this did not spur the ‘Aussie’ to fresh gains, with the antipodean currency instead weighed down by a bearish Westpac Consumer Confidence survey. As consumer sentiment weakened on the month the appeal of the Australian Dollar was limited, particularly given the bullishness of the US Dollar.

Higher Food Prices Shore up New Zealand Dollar

An uptick in the New Zealand Food Price Index helped to drive the New Zealand Dollar higher across the board on Wednesday. With prices jumping 0.5% on the month markets were encouraged by the possibility that this might suggest growth in domestic inflation, a prospect which would deter the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) from cutting interest rates further in the near future.

Canadian Dollar Bullish as BOC Holds Rates

The Bank of Canada (BOC) unsurprisingly opted to leave interest rates unchanged today, offering a fresh boost to the ‘Loonie’. Policymakers expressed confidence in the positive impact of the recently announced federal budget, with this less dovish tone adding to the Canadian Dollar’s relative strength. Despite a large rise in US crude inventories the price of Brent crude has continued to advance strongly today, trending above $44 per barrel.

As of Wednesday, 13th April 2016, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.259, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.4203, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.8532, GBP NZD exchange rate was 2.0543, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.8194, and GBP CNY exchange rate was 9.2015.

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