Pound (GBP), Euro (EUR), Yen (JPY) Weaker Ahead of Bernanke Speech

Published: 17 Jul at 10 AM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Portugal,

Pound Sterling
GBP/EUR – Trading in the Region of 1.1493
As the local session began the Pound was trading close to a four-month low against the Euro. Sterling fluctuations are likely to result from today’s big UK news, including the publication of minutes from the latest Bank of England policy meeting and British employment data. News from the US will also be of interest.

US Dollar
USD/EUR – Trading in the Region of 0.7615
After softening against its most traded peers as a result of easing speculation the US Dollar was supported this morning by the expectation that today’s US housing starts data will show improvement. The safe-haven currency could be in for a bumpy day given that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to deliver a highly anticipated speech to Congress.

Euro (Currency of Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Ireland etc)
EUR/USD – Trading in the Region of 1.3132
Although the Euro lost a little ground against a modestly strengthening ‘Greenback’ it continues to trade strongly against Sterling. Today’s UK news is likely to be the biggest cause of EUR/GBP movement, but developments in Greece and the US could also impact the common currency.

Australian Dollar
AUD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.9197
As the local session came to a close the Australian Dollar shed some of its recent gains against its American counterpart. With the Westpac leading index declining from April’s revised 0.7 per cent to 0.2 per cent in May and concerns of an economic slowdown in China growing, the odds of the Reserve Bank of Australia issuing a rate cut increased. Debate over this issue could keep the Australian Dollar under pressure in the days ahead.

New Zealand Dollar
NZD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.7840
With risk appetite dampened by declining Chinese stocks and US easing concerns, the ‘Kiwi’ modestly softened against several of its peers during Australasian trading. The biggest catalyst of market volatility today is expected to be Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s address to congress.

Canadian Dollar
CAD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.9617
Despite initially falling against the US Dollar at the opening of the North American session the ‘Loonie’ was able to claw back losses overnight. The commodity-driven currency could experience notable fluctuations today as a result of the Bank of Canada’s rate decision.

Japanese Yen
USD/JPY – Trading in the Region of 99.7200
After the release of minutes from the Bank of Japan’s latest policy meeting the Yen fell against safe-haven rival the US Dollar. In the minutes one board member asserted that the central bank’s unprecedented stimulus measures should be reassessed after about two years.

South African Rand
ZAR/USD – Trading in the Region of 9.8880
As trade progressed on Tuesday the Rand was slightly softer against the US Dollar ahead of the publication of today’s domestic consumer confidence and retail sales data. Disappointing figures could see the Rand fall further.
As of Wednesday, 17th July 2013, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.1596, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.5208, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.6482, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.9246, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.5832, GBP CNY exchange rate was 9.3306, GBP JPY exchange rate was 151.5921, and GBP ZAR exchange rate was 14.9426.

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