The Pound vs Australian dollar

[John from Moneycorp]

The latest Australian dollar update is below, thanks.

 

The Australian and New Zealand dollars shared gold last week, both strengthening by about 2% against sterling, the US dollar and the Japanese yen which were fighting for the wooden spoon at the back of the field.

 

The Aussie added two US cents and went up by four cents against the pound. Three things helped the Australian dollar: an improvement in investors' optimism, an unusually moderate statement from the Reserve Bank of Australia and some decent economic data. The improvement in optimism lifted all emerging market and commodity-related currencies, including the Aussie.

 

The RBA statement omitted the usual comment about its currency's overvaluation, surprising investors. And they were surprised again by figures showing a strong 0.5% monthly increase in retail sales and a trade surplus in December when they had expected a deficit.

[John from Moneycorp]

Hi all

 

Relatively quiet week for the GBP/AUD exchange rate, a short review is below, thanks.

 

A dearth of Australian economic data meant a shortage of targets for investors that might have wanted to have a pop at the Aussie.

 

Unusually, the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy-forming board meeting were positive for the currency. The tone of the document was guardedly optimistic and there was no mention of an overvalued currency.

 

The net effect was to leave the Aussie unchanged on the week against sterling and the US dollar.

[Guest Jo908jo]

Hi john I have just registered with moneycorp as I need to send money to UK and see the exchange rate isn't great. Is it worth holding off to see if it will improve? I have been holding off and it's steadily gotten worse I'm in no rush what do you think?

[John from Moneycorp]

Thanks for your message.

 

When you transfer your money can be dependent on your timescales and when you need the money converted – also, need to factor in how long you are prepared to wait for any possible change in the exchange rate.

 

Moneycorp can go through the different options available to you which fits your needs – more info can be found here: http://moneytransfer.pomsinoz.com/how-it-works.cfm

 

I can ask your Account Manager to contact you to go through these?

 

Kind regards

 

John

[John from Moneycorp]

The Australian dollar has been boosted by stronger growth data in the fourth quarter of last year.

 

A government report showed gross domestic product climbed 0.8 per cent in the fourth quarter from the third and 2.8 per cent from the same quarter a year earlier.

[John from Moneycorp]

Hi all - weekly GBP/AUD review below, thanks

It was a much better week for the Australian dollar.

Although it was not quite top dog it was up there with the leaders, strengthening by a cent and a half against the US dollar and by two against sterling.

It was the improved Australian ecostats that did the trick: the figures for new home sales, manufacturing, building permits, retail sales, the trade surplus and economic growth were all better than expected.

[John from Moneycorp]

Latest Australian dollar review is below, thanks.

The Australian dollar had a reasonably good week. Although it could not keep pace with the currency leaders - the Japanese yen and the NZ dollar - it took quarter of a cent off the US dollar and strengthened by a cent and a half against sterling.

The Aussie's upward progress was part of a wider effort by investors to ignore the precarious east-west dispute about Crimea. It also received a helping hand from some of the Australian ecostats. Consumer confidence did it no favours, falling for a third successive month, but the volatile employment change number did. The number of people in work there went up by more than 47k, nearly three times as many as forecast. The rise was accompanied by a 33k swing from part-time to full-time employment.

Whether they were impressed or simply relieved, investors responded by buying the Aussie.

[John from Moneycorp]

The Australian dollar has been stronger in recent weeks against the pound.

 

The Aussie has been helped by easing tensions between the West and Russia – also, minutes released by Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) also supported the dollar. The RBA reiterated its stance that the cash rate will stay at its current level of 2.5 per cent.

[John from Moneycorp]

Weekly Australian dollar update is below – thanks.

 

The Aussie walked away with the prize for most-improved currency after it added two thirds of a US cent and two and a half cents against sterling as well as strengthening against the rest of the field. There was precious little among the few Australian ecostats to justify its advance.

 

It was simply that investors felt more comfortable with the situation in Ukraine and so more inclined to hold "risky" commodity-related currencies.

[Guest kobi]

Hi John, just wanted to say thanks for your posts and updates.

I know you probably don't get a lot of replies but keep on posting as they are really useful and provide information on the general Auz economy, not just the dollar rate.

 

I'm looking forward to a $2 : £1 so that I can look at exchanging a whole chunk of coins!

 

Cheers

Kobi

[thearmchairdetective]

Yes, please keep them coming

[John from Moneycorp]

Thanks for the feedback.

[John from Moneycorp]

The Australian dollar has been much stronger against the pound. It was boosted by comments from Australia Governor Glenn Stevens.

Stevens talked about a prospective housing boom and a shift in economic emphasis away from mining and towards other industries - the Aussie strengthened by a cent against sterling.

In addition, it was boosted by news from China, speculating they may accelerate stimulus measures to boost its economy. China is a key trading nation for Australia therefore any news from there can impact the exchange rate.

[John from Moneycorp]

The Australian dollar is on a roll.

 

For a second successive week it was the top performer, strengthening by three and a half euro cents, two US cents and by two and a half cents against sterling.

 

Unusually, the Reserve Bank of Australia governor helped it on its way with a speech that emphasised a prospective housing boom and a shift in economic emphasis away from mining and towards other industries.

[John from Moneycorp]

There has not been much currency related news of note over the weekend/today.

 

Worth keeping an eye on the monthly Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Rate Statement on Tuesday morning – in this statement, the RBA announces its policy on interest rates.

[John from Moneycorp]

Please see a weekly summary below, thanks.

Once again it was the Reserve Bank of Australia that did for the Aussie. This time it was an assistant governor, who commented that an outflow of capital would be likely to weaken the currency.

The Australian ecostats were of no help whatsoever, especially the one which showed a weakening of consumer confidence.

 

It all cost the Aussie a cent against the euro and three cents against sterling.

[John from Moneycorp]

Latest currency update below, thanks.

 

The Aussie did not begin the week well, losing three cents to sterling in two days, but it staged a modest recovery after that, leaving it a cent lower against the US dollar and the euro and more than two cents weaker against sterling.

 

As is often the case, the Australian dollar's biggest handicap was its central bank. In this instance the damage was done by Guy Debelle, an assistant governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and by the minutes of the recent RBA policy meeting.

 

The minutes confirmed that Australian interest rates will remain at a record low "for some time yet" and Mr Debelle said in a speech that a decline in capital inflows would be likely to weaken the Australian dollar. It did not help that his comments came hard on the heels of a warning from Standard and Poor's that Australia could lose its AAA credit rating if government spending cuts are not put into effect.

[John from Moneycorp]

Latest currency update is below, thanks.

 

The Aussie did not begin the week well, losing three cents to sterling in two days, but it staged a modest recovery after that, leaving it a cent lower against the US dollar and the euro and more than two cents weaker against sterling.

 

As is often the case, the Australian dollar's biggest handicap was its central bank. In this instance the damage was done by Guy Debelle, an assistant governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and by the minutes of the recent RBA policy meeting.

 

The minutes confirmed that Australian interest rates will remain at a record low "for some time yet" and Mr Debelle said in a speech that a decline in capital inflows would be likely to weaken the Australian dollar. It did not help that his comments came hard on the heels of a warning from Standard and Poor's that Australia could lose its AAA credit rating if government spending cuts are not put into effect.

[John from Moneycorp]

The Australian dollar has strengthened against the pound following positive news released from the manufacturing sector in Australia.

[John from Moneycorp]

Hi all - please find a monthly review below, thanks.

 

Back in April investors took fright when the Reserve Bank of Australia said the value of its currency was "high by historical standards". Their reaction at the time was to sell the Aussie, relegating it to a place among the also-rans. Since then they have clearly become more accustomed to the expression, not least because the RBA has been dropping it into its commentaries and speeches almost as a matter of course. The last time it trotted out the phrase, in the June monetary policy statement, the Australian dollar actually went up because investors had been expecting stronger language.

 

That is not to say the RBA has given up its effort to depress the Aussie. Assistant Governor Guy Debelle met with some success in that direction when he said in a speech that falling capital inflows would be likely to weaken the currency. He was fortunate that his comment came hard on the heels of a warning by Standard & Poor's that Australia could lose its AAA credit rating if the government fails to reduce spending.

 

Nevertheless the Australian dollar had a reasonably successful run in May. It was only a fifth of a cent behind the US dollar and strengthened by a cent against sterling and by two and a half cents against the euro.

 

Some of its success came from the Chinese economic data, which led investors to believe that the slowdown there might be less serious than they previously thought. In general what's good for China is good for the Australian dollar, because of Australia's considerable exports of iron ore and coal to the country. Some of the Aussie's support was the result of stronger ecostats from Australia itself: More than 14k new jobs were added in April, house prices were up by an annual 10.9% and new home sales rose by 2.9% in April alone.

 

Mostly though, the Aussie did well because volatility in financial markets was unusually low and investors were not scared to take advantage of Australia's relatively higher interest rates. The RBA's 2.5% benchmark compares favourably with the Bank of England's 0.5%, the European Central Bank's 0.25% and the near-zero rates set by the central banks in Japan, America and Switzerland.

 

And the Aussie could look even more attractive if the European Central Bank delivers the rate cut that investors are expecting it to announce on 5 June. First, though, the Australian dollar will have to face the challenge of gross domestic product (GDP) data for the first quarter of the year. Analysts think the economy will have grown by 0.9% in Q1, a little more than in the last quarter of 2013. If it has, the Aussie will be able to relax a little but a lower number could take away some of its shine.

[John from Moneycorp]

Hi all - the weekly Australian dollar review is below, thanks.

 

The Australian dollar started the week badly but later recovered most of the lost ground. Disappointing data for building permits and retail sales were offset by an improvement in the health of manufacturing and services sector firms.

 

The Aussie received particular help from news that Australia's economy expanded by 1.1% in the first quarter.

 

But that was only enough to keep it steady on the week against the US dollar: against sterling it was down by two thirds of a cent.

[John from Moneycorp]

Hi all, the latest Australian dollar news is below, thanks

 

Australian ecostats were thin on the ground.

 

New vehicle sales scored a ninth consecutive month of decline and leading indicators from two of the country's financial institutions averaged out at zero. Investors were more interested in the Reserve Bank of Australia's hint that if there were to be an early change to interest rates it would be more likely to be a cut than an increase.

 

It cost the Aussie a cent against the US dollar and the pound.

[John from Moneycorp]

The Australian dollar weakened against the pound following comments by Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens on the Aussie dollar & house prices.

The RBA governor said that house prices will always rise, and that the Australian dollar is currently far too strong.

 

His comments had a negative impact on the dollar making it weaker.

[John from Moneycorp]

Hi all - latest Australian dollar review is below, thanks.

 

It was a fairly successful week for the Australian dollar.

 

The Aussie was not in the same league as the class-leading Japanese yen or the second-placed NZ dollar but it gained quarter of a cent against the US dollar, half a cent against the euro and a cent against sterling.

 

It would have done better if not for the Australian jobs data, which showed unemployment rising to 6.0% and a noticeable swing to part-time working.

[John from Moneycorp]

The latest Australian dollar review is below, thanks.

 

The Australian dollar did a good job of keeping its head below the parapet.

 

There were no exciting Australian economic statistics; vehicle sales enjoyed amonthly increase and business confidence was almost unchanged. With no domesticecostats to affect it the Aussie was left to go with the flow. It was all butunchanged against sterling and the US dollar and it strengthened by two thirdsof a cent against the euro.

 

The Australian dollar's relatively high 2.5% benchmark interest rateundoubtedly helped it to keep pace with the US dollar and the pound becausethose two received particular help last week. In Washington the Federal Reservechairperson said US interest rates would rise sooner and faster than currentlyenvisioned and the pound got a boost when inflation jumped to 1.9%, close toits 2% target. Investors saw the increase as removing one obstacle to higher UKinterest rates.