GBP/USD Exchange Rate Trending Above 1.70

Published: 20 Jun at 12 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Germany, South Africa,

GBP, Pound Sterling

Thursday saw the Pound close against the US Dollar at over $1.70 for the first time since the global collapse in 2008. The Pound reached $1.7062, the highest attainment since 21st October 2008. Predictions from economists suggest that the Pound will rise higher with the US Dollar being held down by low interest rates after the recent statement from the Federal Reserve, giving the Pound more scope to climb. Sterling may gain some more ground on Friday with the release of public finance and borrowing data. With speculation over when UK interest rates will rise, the Pound looks set to grow stronger.

Economist Win Thin, suggested: ‘Whether it hikes rates in either late 2014 or early 2015, the BoE stands as the most hawkish of the major central banks. People quibble about the timing, but it’s clearly going to be the first to exit [its accommodative monetary policy]. This has given the Pound some strength.’

USD, US Dollar

Despite the US publishing a positive jobless claims report on Thursday, the US Dollar is set to slump with its most dramatic weekly decline for two months against the Euro. Expert economists claim the financial system has contracted and manufacturing productivity has slowed. Despite the Iraq conflict being an influential factor that could boost the safe-haven US Dollar, the ‘Greenback’ has appeared less appealing this week after the Federal Reserve announced that it had no plans to raise interest rates any time soon.

Citigroup analyst Todd Elmer has suggested, ‘The trend is going to be toward Dollar weakness. The actual Fed outcome nowhere near matched market expectations for hawkishness, which means that we probably aren’t going to see rises in U.S yields anytime soon. That’s going to be a limiting factor for volatility.’

CAD, Canadian Dollar

The recent conflict in Iraq has caused concerns over the stability of the Canadian Dollar with crude oil prices fluctuating. So far the ‘Loonie’ has remained minimally unaffected with the increase of oil prices being an ally. It appears the Canadian Dollar will continue to stand strong against the ‘Greenback’ with CMC Markets currency expert Michael Hewson commenting: ‘If oil prices continue to remain elevated, then that could well act as a drag on economic growth over the course of the next few months, which means that events in Iraq are likely to drive the winds of investor sentiment for some time to come.’ Friday will see Canada’s consumer price index and retail sales information released. It could encourage further climbing for the ‘Loonie’ which is currently trading in the region of 0.9243.

AUD, Australian Dollar

Australia is currently experiencing a strong economy in contrast to global economics. The Australian Dollar has spent the last two months trading against the US Dollar at around 0.94, whereas in the three months prior it was 0.87. Thursday saw the ‘Aussie’ peak at 0.9433, however strategists have predicted a difficulty in breaching the 0.950 level at present. The Reserve Bank of Australia has been attempting to keep the ‘Aussie’ low as it gains against other weaker currencies. An expert in the field Matt Sherwood for Perpetual has stated: ‘Indeed over the past 18 months the bank has been telling us that the dollar is historically high and is at levels that are tightening financial conditions.’

NZD, New Zealand Dollar

Friday has seen favourable consumer confidence results for New Zealand, with the previous -4.4% decline being followed by a 3.4% increase. The consumer confidence index rose from 127.6 - 131.9. Next Thursday will release figures for New Zealand’s trade balance, exports, and imports. As the unstable Iraq situation continues to progress, the volatility of the ‘Kiwi’ will be at its highest. Although the New Zealand Dollar has seen a small climb against the Pound, its relation to the US Dollar is standing fairly unchanged, with the pairing trading at 0.8714.

EUR, Euro
The Euro is standing stronger this week against the US Dollar, and is currently in the region of 1.3608. Friday will bring results of the Eurozone consumer confidence report, and if it is able to meet initial predictions it could encourage the Euro to climb further. The US Dollar has weakened against the Euro, allowing it to reach over a one-week high on Thursday after the Fed’s recent statement. Friday has seen the Single Currency soften against other major currencies after the release of unfavourable data regarding a 0.1% drop in German producer prices.


ZAR, South African Rand

Friday has shown the Rand holding its ground against the US Dollar after Thursday saw it reach a 10 day high. Maemo Rametse, banker, has stated: ‘South African assets still offer some great emerging market value and we expect real money flows to continue. No major data out today so technicals and flow should determine the trajectory.’ Jacob Zumba, South African President has attempted to boost confidence in the private sector after giving a speech this week, confidently suggesting that he will boost economic growth by 5% per year by 2019.
As of Friday, 20th June 2014, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.2511, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.7015, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.812, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.957, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.8307, and GBP ZAR exchange rate was 18.1297.

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