Pound (GBP) Slides as UK House Price Growth Falls to a Nearly Seven-Year Low

Published: 17 Apr at 3 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, Germany,

Sterling (GBP) Falls as UK House Prices Slow to Six-and-a-Half Year Low

The Pound (GBP) slipped against a handful of currencies as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that inflation was stable at 1.9% in March.

Further data revealed that in February UK house prices rose at the slowest rate since September 2012.

Commenting on this, Mike Hardie Head of Inflation at the ONS said:

‘Annual house price growth has slowed to the lowest rate in close to seven years.

‘Growth in Wales and the west of England was offset by a sustained fall in London and falling prices in the South East for the first time since 2011.’

However, the modest inflation is helping the Bank of England (BoE) hold off on a fresh interest rate hike as the bank waits for the current Brexit uncertainty to pass.

Pound Euro (GBP/EUR) Exchange Rate Slips despite Germany Slashing 2019 Growth Forecast

The Pound Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate slipped despite the German government slashing its 2019 growth forecast.

Reflecting a worsening of the slowdown in Germany, the government slashed its growth forecast for the second time since January where growth was cut from 1.8% to 1%.

It is now expected that GDP growth will reach 0.5% in 2019.

Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) Exchange Rate Flat as Chinese Data Sparks Upswing in Risk Appetite

The Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate remained muted, as a boost to risk appetite weighed on the safe-haven ‘Greenback’.

Better-than-expected Chinese data weighed on the US Dollar as the Chinese economy appears to be rebounding.

Q1 2019 GDP grew by 6.4% and annual industrial output rose by 8.5%, the highest rise in nearly five years, prompting an upswing in risk appetite.

Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) Exchange Rate Falls as Canadian Inflation Misses BoC Target

The Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate fell over the course of Wednesday as risk appetite increased.

Canada’s annual inflation rate rose to 1.9% in March from 1.5% in February.

However, this left inflation just below the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) 2% target for the third consecutive month.

Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate Falls on Rising Global Risk Appetite

The Australian Dollar (AUD) rose to a two-month high after data released from China revealed the economy appears to be rebounding.

The economy grew by 6.4% in Q1 2019, implying the government’s attempts to stimulate activity levels is working.

The economic growth led to investors believing that the worst is over for the global economy, which likely boosted risk-appetite.

Pound New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) Exchange Rate Slips despite Possibility of a RBNZ Rate Cut

The Pound New Zealand (GBP/NZD) exchange rate fell on Wednesday despite reports suggesting there is a greater probability the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) could cut interest rates.

New Zealand’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew by 0.1% in the March quarter.

This weak growth could mean the RBNZ may cut interest rates as soon as next month, however the ‘Kiwi’ continued to rise against the Pound.




As of Wednesday, 17th April 2019, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.154, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.3037, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.8167, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.9383, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.7406, and GBP CNY exchange rate was 8.7193.

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