Exchange Rate News: GBP/USD Softer, EUR/GBP Stronger

Published: 16 Jan at 10 AM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Africa,

Pound Sterling
GBP/USD– Trading in the Region 1.6336

An unexpected decline in UK house prices pushed Sterling lower during the European session, but if tomorrow’s retail sales figures show a stronger-than-forecast gain the Pound could recover losses before the weekend.

US Dollar
USD/GBP – Trading in the Region of 0.6122

The Federal Reserve’s positive beige book report and hints regarding moderate economic expansion in the US pushed the US Dollar higher during the North American session. The ‘Buck’ was also supported by the expectation that today’s domestic jobless and manufacturing reports will show improvement.

Euro
EUR/USD – Trading in the Region of 1.3600

Although the Euro declined against a bullish US Dollar overnight, it advanced on the Pound and was little affected by the release of final CPI data for Germany and the Eurozone.

Australian Dollar
AUD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.8777

The ‘Aussie’ plummeted to multi-month and multi-year lows against the majority of its most traded peers as the Australian economy unexpectedly shed over 20,000 positions in December. The Australian Dollar closed Australasian trading in the region of a three-year low against the ‘Greenback’.

New Zealand Dollar
NZD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.8302

An optimistic beige book report from the Federal Reserve pushed the ‘Kiwi’ lower against a supported US Dollar during the local session. The New Zealand Dollar was able to post a notable gain against its Australian counterpart however as the odds of the Reserve Bank of Australia cutting rates increased.

Canadian Dollar
CAD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.9136

Rising commodity prices lent the Canadian Dollar support during local trading and the ‘Loonie’ recovered ground against several of its major rivals. However, ongoing Fed speculation has left the CAD/USD pairing close to a four-year low.

Japanese Yen
USD/JPY – Trading in the Region of 104.7600

The Yen extended its long run of declines against the US Dollar ahead of the publication of US manufacturing data and jobless claims figures. The reports are expected to add to the case for the Federal Reserve tapering stimulus by at least a further 5 billion Dollars when it meets at the end of this month.

South African Rand
USD/ZAR – Trading in the Region of 10.9000

As the local session opened the Rand remained in free-fall, trading at its lowest level against the US Dollar since 2008. This week’s poor domestic mining data and threat of strike action has kept pressure on the Rand, as has the expectation that the Federal Reserve will continue tapering stimulus.
As of Thursday, 16th January 2014, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.2005, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.6347, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.8534, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.9585, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.7873, GBP JPY exchange rate was 170.4951, and GBP ZAR exchange rate was 17.8021.

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