Positive Chinese Manufacturing Data Could Send GBP AUD and GBP NZD Rates Lower

Published: Thursday, 22 November 2012 10:00 BST - Written by John Cameron

STORY LINK Positive Chinese Manufacturing Data Could Send GBP AUD and GBP NZD Rates Lower

Last night’s session saw the release of an encouraging piece of data from the world’s second largest economy; this month’s Chinese HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI survey showed that this key sector of China’s economy is once again expanding, printing at 50.4. It was the first time that the closely-watched survey had printed above the 50 level since the Autumn of 2011.The news has triggered a positive performance for Asian stocks overnight, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 leading the way with gains of 1.56% on the day.

The improvement in global risk sentiment has followed through into the European equities session, with London’s FTSE 100 and Europe’s bourses all registering healthy gains in early trading. Positive investor sentiment is likely to favour the higher yielding New Zealand and Australian Dollars as the day unfolds. This could see the GBP AUD exchange rate pull back towards the psychologically key 1.5000 level, whilst the GBP NZD exchange rate could dip back towards the lower end of the 1.9000s once again.

The potential losses for currency pairs such as GBP AUD and GBP NZD would surely have be of a greater magnitude on the day were it not for yesterday morning’s Bank of England Minutes which revealed that the Bank’s nine-man MPC is not considering any further cut to UK interest rates in the near-term, at least.

Elsewhere, there was more positive news for the global economic recovery yesterday, when the US Conference Board published data showing that America’s vast economy had expanded by 0.2% last month, following a monthly increase of 0.5% the month before. The figure, along with last night’s positive Chinese data, has seen the safe haven US Dollar weaken, sending the GBP USD exchange rate up to 1.5978 overnight.

International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements.

TAGS: American Dollar Forecasts Australian Dollar Forecasts Daily Currency Forecasts