CAD Drops, AUD Weaker, GBP And USD Gain

Published: 19 Mar at 12 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, Japan, South Africa,

Pound Sterling
GBP/USD – Trading in the Region of 1.6638
During European trading the Pound advanced on its rivals following the release of UK employment figures. Further Sterling movement could follow Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne presenting the UK budget.

US Dollar
USD/GBP – Trading in the Region of 0.6011
With the Federal Open Market Committee policy announcement looming the US Dollar advanced on the Yen. The ‘Greenback’ could broadly strengthen if the central bank announces the further tapering of stimulus.

Euro
EUR/USD – Trading in the Region of 1.3926
The Euro softened against the Pound and US Dollar during European trading as both currencies were boosted by domestic developments. However, Euro losses were limited as a report showed that seasonally adjusted construction output in the Eurozone increased by 1.5 per cent in January month-on-month following a positively revised gain of 1.3 per cent in December. On the year construction output was up 8.8 per cent.

Australian Dollar
AUD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.9113
News that a major Chinese property developer collapsed saw the Yuan and ‘Aussie’ weaken. The Australian Dollar was little affected by the release of Australia’s Westpac leading index and closed local trading softer against the US Dollar and Pound.

New Zealand Dollar
NZD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.8617
Ahead of the publication of growth data for New Zealand the ‘Kiwi’ was trading in a fairly narrow range against several of its major currency counterparts. If New Zealand’s economy is shown to have expanded by more-than-forecast the nation’s Dollar could surge.

Canadian Dollar
CAD/USD – Trading in the Region of 0.8947
Yesterday the Canadian Dollar tumbled in response to comments issued by Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz. The ‘Loonie’ largely held on to these declines overnight. The Canadian Dollar’s bearish relationship with its peers may continue if today’s domestic wholesale sales report fails to show the 0.8 per cent month-on-month gain forecast by economists.

Japanese Yen
USD/JPY – Trading in the Region of 101.5600
The Yen dropped against the US Dollar ahead of the conclusion of the FOMC announcement. The appeal of the safe-haven currency also declined as Ukraine-focused risk aversion eased.

South African Rand
USD/ZAR – Trading in the Region of 10.7024
As emerging-market assets firmed in response to easing risk aversion the Rand was holding steady against the US Dollar. SA inflation figures showed an acceleration in the rate due to a weak Rand and climbing fuel costs, but the currency was later supported by the news that domestic retail sales climbed by 0.8 per cent in January following a revised increase of 1.0 per cent in December.
As of Wednesday, 19th March 2014, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.1965, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.6534, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.8311, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.9374, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.8594, GBP CNY exchange rate was 10.2431, GBP JPY exchange rate was 169.3827, and GBP ZAR exchange rate was 17.9788.

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