Good morning and welcome to today’s foreign exchange market commentary on Thursday, the 2nd of May.
Here are MyCurrencyTransfer.com’s top 5 currency highlights:
- GBP heads for 11-week high against USD
- Dollar put on hold following USD Federal Reserve FOMC Meeting
- ECB Rate Cut Could Boost Euro Value
- Australian and New Zealand Dollars drops owing to disappointing China manufacturing data
- Japanese Yen buckling under pressure from BoJ stimulus programme
CURRENCY RATES OVERVIEW
GBP v EURO – 1.1823
GBP v USD – 1.5569
GBP v CHF – 1.4480
GBP v CAN – 1.5700
GBP v AUD – 1.5218
GBP v ZAR – 14.0829
GBP v JPY – 151.301
GBP v HKD – 12.0779
GBP v NZD – 1.8375
GBP/SEK – 10.1028
GBP Exchange rates valid as on 2013-05-02, 09:24 GMT
Making an international payment? Compare money transfer deals and save 3-5 % on your currency. Making an international money transfer? Compare money transfer deals and save 3-5 % on your currency exchange with better-than-bank exchange rates.
Key releases in the next 24 hours that may affect foreign exchange rates:
Australia: AUD AiG Performance of Service Index (APR)
Europe: European Central Bank Rate Decision, ECB’s Draghi Holds Press Conference after Rate Decision
United Kingdom: Construction Purchasing Manager Index (PMI)
New Zealand: No data
United States of America: USD Initial Jobless Claim , USD Trade Balance
China: CNY Non-Manufacturing PMI
Canada: International Merchandise Trade Data
GBP Heads For 11 Week High Against USD
GBP has strengthened yesterday after approaching 11-week highs against the US Dollar after an industry report indicated that UK housing data remained unchanged since April when a decline in real estate prices was observed. On a year-by-year basis, house prices improved by 0.9% which is the biggest annual increase in housing data in over 14 months.
Dollar On Hold Following Fed Meeting
The all-important Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) rate decision in the last trading session was a disappointment as it did not lead to any volatility in dollar trading levels. The Fed’s decision to hold is however an indication that its $85 billion-per-month stimulus program remains in place.
Euro could see boost following ECB rate cut
With the European Central Bank’s monthly meeting coming up today, the euro has been strengthening on the back of rate cut expectations. Normally a rate cut speculation would lead to pressure on the currency in question, but many analysts have indicated over the past month that since the weak Eurozone economy has pushed down the Euro’s value and a decision to cut rates will be seen as a step towards economic growth in the region.
AUD weakens owing to poor Chinese manufacturing data
The Australian and New Zealand dollar showed signs of bucking under pressure from the release of China’s manufacturing sector data. The manufacturing data release indicated growth slowdown in April in the world’s largest manufacturing industry.
JPY buckling under pressure from BOJ stimulus programme
The yen gained some ground but remained quiet against the USD as both Japan and the US had recent mixed data showing signs of a pressured economy. As such the yen remains under under pressure from the Bank of Japan’s new stimulus measures and investor expectations for the currency to reach 100 continue. The minutes from the Monetary Policy Meeting of the Bank of Japan published last night indicated that BOJ members agreed that the economy has shown signs of picking up. Japan also announced a monetary base of 23.1% in April as compared to the initial figure of 19.8% announced in March.
Going on holiday? Compare travel money deals with our sister site mytravelmoney.co.uk
Have a great day!
