SNB Decision Prompts Massive Exchange Rate Movement

Published: 15 Jan at 5 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Switzerland,

Pound Sterling
As the European session began, Britain’s soft house price data and concerns relating to the upcoming UK general election pushed the Pound lower against its peers. The GBP/EUR exchange rate, however, was able to surge to 1.31 following a shocking policy decision from the Swiss National Bank.

US Dollar
The US Dollar experienced a volatile trading session as markets were thrown for a loop by the SNB’s announcement regarding removing the cap on the Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate. ‘Greenback’ fluctuations also occurred after the US published a mixed bag of economic reports, including disappointing initial jobless claims figures. If tomorrow’s US CPI surprises to the upside, the US Dollar could end the week on a high. A negative result, however, may trigger USD losses.

Euro
The SNB announcement, coupled with European Central Bank quantitative easing concerns, pushed the Euro to multi-year lows against the majority of its currency rivals. The Euro weakened to its lowest level against the Pound since before the financial crisis. Tomorrow sees the Eurozone publish its final inflation figures for December. Revised results may spark additional common currency movement.

Australian Dollar
Better-than-projected Australian employment stats bolstered the ‘Aussie’ during the local session and the South Pacific currency extended gains as oil prices recovered some ground. With no further Australian reports on the cards this week, ‘Aussie’ volatility will be limited.

New Zealand Dollar
The New Zealand Dollar tracked its Australian relation higher on Thursday thanks to Australia’s impressive jobs gain. The New Zealand Dollar even advanced on the ‘Aussie’ as investors bet that the increase in employment won’t help the Australian economy outstrip New Zealand’s.

Canadian Dollar
Climbing oil prices bolstered the ‘Loonie’ on Thursday and the currency briefly gained by 1% on the US Dollar. However, a disappointing domestic existing home sales report later undermined this advance.
As of Thursday, 15th January 2015, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.3045, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.518, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.8462, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.9358, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.8154, and GBP CHF exchange rate was 1.2972.

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