USD Stronger, AUD Declines on Siege Concerns, Oil Prices Keep CAD under Pressure

Published: 15 Dec at 3 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, Greece,

Pound Sterling
The Pound lost ground against several of its most traded currency counterparts at the beginning of the week as the UK’s Rightmove house price report showed the steepest monthly drop in property prices on record. If tomorrow’s British Consumer Price Index confirms that inflation eased from 1.3% to 1.2% the Pound will come under further pressure and could fall against the US Dollar and Euro.

US Dollar
A stronger-than-anticipated increase in US industrial production helped the US Dollar advance at the beginning of the week. Industrial production was shown to have increased by 1.3% on the month in November, almost double the 0.7% gain anticipated. Meanwhile US Capacity Utilisation came in at 80.1% in November, up from a positively revised 79.3% the previous month.

Euro
Euro exchange rate movement was limited on Monday due to a lack of notable economic reports for the Eurozone. The common currency did come under some strain as a result of Greek political concerns and last week’s soft ecostats for the 18-nation region, but forecasts for improved manufacturing/services PMI’s for the Eurozone and its largest economies minimised declines.

Australian Dollar
As a hostage situation developed in a cafe in Sydney, demand for the Australian Dollar eased and the commodity-driven currency fell against its rivals. Falling crude oil prices also took a toll on the asset, as did concerns that the pace of growth in China is slowing.

New Zealand Dollar
Falling oil prices kept the New Zealand Dollar trending lower overnight, as did a fall in New Zealand’s Performance of Services index. With economic reports for New Zealand limited during the Australasian session, further ‘Kiwi’ movement is likely to be the result of data from China and Australia.

Canadian Dollar
The Canadian Dollar was trading close to a five-year low against the US Dollar due to a slide in the price of Canada’s main commodity – crude oil. The Canadian Dollar was little changed after Canadian existing home sales were shown to have stagnated in November, month-on-month, after climbing by 0.7% in October.
As of Monday, 15th December 2014, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.2573, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.5643, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.9045, GBP NZD exchange rate was 2.0205, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.8233, and GBP CNY exchange rate was 9.684.

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