US Dollar (USD) Rises on Risk-Off Market Mood

Published: 16 Apr at 5 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA,

Pound (GBP)

The Pound (GBP) fell against many of its peers today after Downing Street said that the coronavirus had only strengthened the UK’s reason to be free of the European Union’s regulations after 2020.

Consequently, Sterling fell due to the two-pronged attack on the British economy from the coronavirus and uncertainty over Brexit.

The UK Government is also expected to announce a three-week extension to the nationwide lockdown, leaving many businesses nervous as the UK now faces several more weeks of uncertainty as the coronavirus crisis continues to develop.

Euro (EUR)

The Euro (EUR) also struggled today due to comments from Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank (ECB), which indicated a great deal of uncertainty over the bloc’s recession going forward.

Furthermore, while the Eurozone’s Industrial Production was better than expected in February, the outlook for Euro-area’s manufacturing is now expected to slump severely in March and April due to the coronavirus.

Bert Colijn, the Senior Economist for the Eurozone at ING, commented: ‘Production declined by 0.1% in February, which will be modest compared to March and April data. An end to the industrial recession will only come once the Great Lockdown is behind us.’

US Dollar (USD)

The US Dollar (USD) rose today as market sentiment plummeted after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced the worldwide lockdown would see an economic downturn not seen since the Great Depression.

As a result, the safe-haven ‘Greenback’ rose on risk-off market mood and a combination of renewed hopes that the US could begin to ease lockdown measures from state to state.

The US Dollar (USD) also remained unmoved after today’s release of the US Initial Jobless Claims soared to a worse-than-expected 5,245,000, leaving some ‘Greenback’ investors feeling jittery about the prospects for the American economy going forward.

Australian Dollar (AUD)

The Australian Dollar (AUD) performed better-than-expected today after Australia’s employment rate for March soared above forecasts, leaving ‘Aussie’ traders cautiously optimistic for the economy.

However, April’s data is forecast to reveal the true impact of the coronavirus on the Australian economy. As a result, the ‘Aussie’s gains were clipped by rising concerns for Australia’s vulnerable employment sector.

New Zealand Dollar (NZD)

The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) suffered from a sell of risky assets today with investors becoming increasingly concerned over the health of the global economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, we could see the ‘Kiwi’ begin to make some recovery as New Zealand is becoming increasingly set to ease its nationwide lockdown as the NZ Covid-19 death toll continues to fall.

As of Thursday, 16th April 2020, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.1492, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.2481, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.9636, and GBP NZD exchange rate was 2.0842.

Latest Currency News Items:

• Euro Surges as Highly-Mutated Coronavirus Variant Rattles Global Markets
• Delay to Lockdown Easing Triggers Slump in Pound (GBP)
• New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Surges as RBNZ Hints at Raising Interest Rates in 2022
• Pound (GBP) Exchange Rate Dips Despite the UK's Inflation Doubling in April
• Pound (GBP) Rises as UK Growth Rebounds in March