Australian Dollar (AUD) Rises on US-China Trade Deal Optimism

Published: 26 Jun at 5 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar, Pound Sterling, America, UK, Eurozone, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, China, France, Germany,

Pound Sterling (GBP)

The Pound (GBP) fell today following comments from former Brexit Secretary Dominick Raab that Boris Johnson, the current Tory leadership favourite for next Prime Minister, would likely block attempts to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, also sounded a dovish note today, saying that Brexit would likely force the bank to cut interest rates in an effort to provide stimulus to the economy.

US Dollar (USD)

The US Dollar (USD) remained steady today following the publication of the US Nondefense Capital Goods Orders excluding Aircraft figures for May, which showed an improvement on the consensus of 0.1% by rising to 0.4%.

US Durable Goods orders for May, however, fell by -1.3%, proving a drag on some of the ‘Greenback’s gains.

US-China trade talks have remained in focus today, with increasing hopes that the two superpowers could settle on a trade deal at the G20 summit in Osaka later this week.

Euro (EUR)

The Euro fell this morning following the printing of the German GfK Consumer Confidence figures for July, which fell below consensus to 9.8.

GfK said in its statement:

‘The number of voices speaking of an end to the employment boom is multiplying, and in consequence many workers' fear of losing their jobs has grown.’

Meanwhile French Consumer Confidence figures for June failed to impress, despite improving at 101.

Australian Dollar (AUD)

The Australian Dollar rose following news that US and China could reach a trade deal as early as this week.

With the ‘Aussie’ being a highly risk-correlated currency, and China being one of its closest trading companions, this has boosted confidence in Australian markets.

New Zealand Dollar (NZD)

The New Zealand Dollar also benefited from increased risk appetite today.

This came following comments from the US Treasury Steven Mnuchin, who said:

‘We were about 90% of the way there [with a deal] and I think there’s a path to complete this.’

Today also saw the RBNZ Interest Rate Decision, with the central bank holding the interest rate at 1.5%.

This bought some relief to ‘Kiwi’ traders as fears were mounting that the bank would slash its interest rate.

Canadian Dollar (CAD)

The Canadian Dollar held onto its gains following yesterday’s encouraging Canadian wholesale sales figures for April, which shot up above the 0.2% forecast at 1.7%.

The ‘Loonie’ has also benefited from a spike in oil prices today following the US Government’s report showed a weekly drop of nearly 13 million barrels in domestic crude oil stocks – its worst since 2016.

As Canada is one of the world’s largest exporters of oil, this has provided a boost to the economy.

As of Wednesday, 26th June 2019, the Pound Sterling currency rates mentioned within this news item were as follows:

GBP EUR exchange rate was 1.1161, GBP USD exchange rate was 1.2693, GBP AUD exchange rate was 1.8171, GBP NZD exchange rate was 1.9002, GBP CAD exchange rate was 1.6659, and GBP CNY exchange rate was 8.7329.

Latest Currency News Items:

• Euro Surges as Highly-Mutated Coronavirus Variant Rattles Global Markets
• Delay to Lockdown Easing Triggers Slump in Pound (GBP)
• New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Surges as RBNZ Hints at Raising Interest Rates in 2022
• Pound (GBP) Exchange Rate Dips Despite the UK's Inflation Doubling in April
• Pound (GBP) Rises as UK Growth Rebounds in March