Pounds to US Dollar Exchange Rate Today - GBP USD Spirals Following Strong US and UK Manufacturing Data, GBP AUD and GBP NZD Rates Test Lower

Modified: Wednesday, 4 January 2012 17:10 BST - Written by Tim Boyer

STORY LINK Pounds to US Dollar Exchange Rate Today - GBP USD Spirals Following Strong US and UK Manufacturing Data, GBP AUD and GBP NZD Rates Test Lower

The Pound Euro exchange rate (GBP EUR) is 1.1999. The Pound Dollar exchange rate (GBP USD) is 1.5639. The Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate (GBP AUD) is 1.5104.

Global equities markets powered forward during yesterday’s session, with London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index gaining over 2% on the day. European indices also registered healthy gains and US equities markets followed suit in a move which was partly driven by economic data releases and partly by a decrease in market rumours regarding the Eurozone debt crisis.

Yesterday morning’s UK PMI Manufacturing survey for December printed at 49.6, which ostensibly was not a particularly encouraging number, given that a reading below 50 indicates that the sector is in contraction. However, the number showed a marked improvement on November’s counterpart figure of 47.7 and significantly bettered analysts’ expectations of a print of 47.3.

The positive UK PMI Manufacturing figure was echoed in the US with the release of ISM manufacturing data for last month, which again bettered expectations, to show at 53.9.

Elsewhere, there was positive news from the Eurozone’s major economy, with the release of German unemployment data which showed that joblessness had dipped to 6.8%, its lowest level since 1991.

Signs that the global economy is rousing from its slumber caused a pick-up in global appetite for risk, sending the US Dollar lower against almost all of the other majors. The GBP USD rate improved throughout the day, to make a run at the 1.5700 by late on in the European session. This was a pronounced move, given that the GBP USD rate had touched 1.5505 in early trading.

Meanwhile, the Australian and New Zealand Dollars made healthy gains on the day, thanks to the return of a ‘risk-on’ trading environment. This saw the GBP AUD exchange rate make a run at the key 1.5000 level, while the GBP NZD exchange rate did a significant amount of work in the 1.97s, having started the session above 1.99.


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