Sinduja Venkat on Google +
Good morning and welcome to today’s foreign exchange market commentary on Wednesday the 8th of May.
Here are MyCurrencyTransfer.com’s top 5 currency highlights:
- Dow Jones finishes at over 15,000 for first time
- RBNZ states NZD is “overvalued”
- China trade growth accelerates beating forecasts
- GBP/USD concludes its rally, down by 58 pips
- Nikkei advances further after breaching 14000 mark
CURRENCY RATES OVERVIEW
GBP/EURO – 1.1815
GBP/USD – 1.5484
GBP/CHF – 1.4549
GBP/CAD – 1.5559
GBP/AUD – 1.5195
GBP/ZAR – 14.0421
GBP/JPY – 153.0714
GBP/HKD – 12.0165
GBP/NZD – 1.8444
GBP/SEK – 10.1084
Mid-market rates as of 2013-05-08 08:45 UTC
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Key releases in the next 24 hours that may affect currency date:
Australia: No Data
Europe: EUR German Industrial Production n.s.a. and w.d.a. (YoY) (MAR)
United Kingdom: No Data
New Zealand: NZD Unemployment Rate (1Q), NZD Employment Change (QoQ) (1Q), NZD Employment Change (YoY) (1Q)
United States of America: No Data
China: No Data
Canada: CAD Housing Starts (APR)
Dow Jones finishes at over 15,000 for first time
The Dow Jones index ended its historic climb at above 15,000 for the first time following reports of strong German factory data which succeeded in boosting US and several other stock markets globally yesterday. The index appreciated by 87 points to 15,056, following the rising trend that it has portrayed over the last six months. Better than expected job data boosted the index last week. Hopes of further stimulus measures from the central bank also served to boost market sentiments.
RBNZ states NZD is “overvalued”
NZD fell earlier on following statements from Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Governor Graeme Wheeler indicating that the bank sold some of its currency to curb its appreciation.
The carry trade has made the NZD bounce and RBNZ has had little left in terms of options to curb currency appreciation. It hasn’t been able to cut interest rates owing to the housing boom in New Zealand.
China trade data surprisingly beats forecasts
China exports increased by 14.7% in April compared to the previous year. Imports also increased by 16.8% from 14.1% in the previous month. The data indicates a trade surplus for China, surprisingly reversing a trade deficit last month. Some analysts have raised doubts about the accuracy in this data. The news of trade surplus raised investors’ moods across Asia and several markets including the Nikkei posted an increase post the data release.
GBP/USD concludes its rally, down by 58 pips
The Sterling ended its rally against the USD yesterday and was down by 58 pips at 1.5481. After what had been a month of steady gains the pair fell sharply. There have been no important economic reports over the last few days the pair was capped at 1.56 but gave way to pressure yesterday and this trend looks to continue till Thursday.
Nikkei advances further after breaching 14000 mark
Following the release of surprisingly positive trade growth data from China for April, Nikkei index continued to shoot up further by 1.25% at 14,285.69 for the day. Other Asia-Pacific markets also followed suit following strong gains made by the Dow Jones in the US.
Have a great day!
