AUD/USD at 5 1/2 Year Low, CAD Movement Likely

Published: 23 Jan at 11 AM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China,

Pound Sterling
After the UK’s retail sales report showed a modest monthly increase in December rather than the decline anticipated the Pound gained on the majority of its rivals. Sterling remained slightly softer against the US Dollar as the ‘Greenback’ derived support from the risk-off environment created by the ECB’s policy announcement.

US Dollar
Prior to the publication of US housing and manufacturing data, the US Dollar was trending higher against most of its rivals. Demand for the North American currency increased after the ECB outlined a larger quantitative easing scheme than anticipated. If today’s US data impresses, the currency could advance further.

Euro
The Euro weakened across the board after the ECB outlined a 1 trillion Euro asset purchase scheme. In the hours following the announcement the Euro hit a 7-year low against the Pound and dropped beyond an 11-year low against the US Dollar.

Australian Dollar
Bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia will be the next central bank to cut interest rates put the ‘Aussie’ on the backfoot and the currency plummeted to its lowest level against the US Dollar for 5 ½ years. The ‘Aussie’ also lost ground against the New Zealand Dollar.

New Zealand Dollar
China’s better-than-expected Manufacturing PMI gave the ‘Kiwi’ a leg up on Friday and the NZD/AUD pairing advanced by around 0.4% during the Australasian session. Investors with an interest in the New Zealand Dollar will also be looking ahead to next week’s RBNZ decision.

Canadian Dollar
The ‘Loonie’ fell dramatically earlier this week as the Bank of Canada unexpectedly cut interest rates. The Canadian Dollar staged a modest rebound as the price of oil increased slightly following the death of the Saudi Arabian King. Today’s Canadian CPI is likely to spark further movement.
As of Friday, 23rd January 2015, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.338, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.4991, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.8944, GBP NZD exchange rate was 2.0122, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.8621, and GBP CNY exchange rate was 9.3373.

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