Good morning and welcome to today’s foreign exchange market commentary on 30th of May.
Here are MyCurrencyTransfer.com’s top 5 currency highlights:
- GBP rallies once again as USD gains falter
- EUR posts strong showing backed by optimistic EMU data
- USD underperforms prior to GDP data
- Nikkei dips by 5%, further correction expected
- NZD sales up as Governor Wheeler dumps them on the market
CURRENCY RATES OVERVIEW
GBP/EURO – 1.1652
GBP/USD – 1.5211
GBP/CHF – 1.4502
GBP/CAD – 1.5692
GBP/AUD – 1.5717
GBP/ZAR – 15.2334
GBP/JPY – 153.4021
GBP/HKD – 11.8096
GBP/NZD – 1.8808
GBP/SEK – 9.9871
Mid-market rates as of 2013-05-30 14:23 UTC
Key releases in the next 24 hours that may affect currency date:
Australia: No Data
Europe: EUR Euro-Zone Economic Confidence (MAY), EUR Euro-Zone Consumer Confidence (MAY F)
United Kingdom: GBP GfK Consumer Confidence Survey (MAY)
New Zealand: NZD Terms of Trade Index (QoQ) (1Q),
United States of America: USD Gross Domestic Product (Annualized) (1Q S), USD Personal Consumption (1Q S), USD Gross Domestic Product Price Index (1Q S), USD Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (QoQ) (1Q S), USD Initial Jobless Claims (MAY 25), USD Pending Home Sales (YoY) (APR)
China: No Data
Canada: CAD Bank of Canada Rate Decision (MAY 29)
Japan: JPY Nomura/JMMA Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index (MAY), JPY Household Spending (YoY) (APR), JPY Jobless Rate (APR), JPY National Consumer Price Index (YoY) (APR), JPY National Consumer Price Index Ex-Fresh Food (YoY) (APR), JPY National Consumer Price Index Ex Food, Energy (YoY) (APR), JPY Industrial Production (YoY) (APR P)
GBP rallies once again as USD gains falter
GBP/USD appreciated today following lower than expected GDP and jobless figures coming out of the US. The jobless data and GDP for the UK were pretty much in line and it is expected that the Bank of England next week will be in focus following the recent drop in CPI. Speculations are rife that BoE will now consider quantitative easing.
EUR posts strong showing backed by optimistic EMU data
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande will meet in Paris today in order to discuss recommendations on how to increase levels of competitiveness and growth in the EU. Euro markets turned around today on the back of optimistic EMU data after declining recently. Earlier today, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (May) was reported at 89.4, against estimates of 89.0. Consumer Confidence (May) yielded a figure of -21.9, matching projections.
USD underperforms prior to GDP data
The US dollar weakened against all of its peers on Thursday. However, ahead of the NY opening, the greenback managed to reverse early losses. Attention now turns to the US, where a batch of economic indicators are up for release, including jobless claims, Q1 GDP revision and pending home sales.
Nikkei dips by 5%, further correction expected
Japan’s Nikkei index dipped a further 5% on Thursday to hit a five-week low, amid predictions of a bigger correction from some analysts. Trading in Tokyo has remained testy owing to global growth concerns and the impending US stimulus decision. Market analysts are inclined to believe that the Nikkei could fall as low as 12,500 points if one were to go by Thursday’s trend.
NZD sales up as Governor Wheeler dumps them on the market
The major mover today was the NZD. Investors appear to be orchestrating a rush sale of out of the Kiwi Dollar which sent the GBP/NZD exchange rate up to as high as 1.8850 earlier on. The forward move for GBP/NZD was driven by comments from Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler who asserted that his Bank would be pumping more New Zealand Dollars on the market in the near term in order to weaken the currency which is inflated in his view.
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