Exchange Rates Today: Pound to Dollar Falls, GBP/AUD & GBP/NZD Climb

October 30, 2013 - Written by David Woodsmith

STORY LINK Exchange Rates Today: Pound to Dollar Falls, GBP/AUD & GBP/NZD Climb

The Pound Dollar exchange rate (GBP USD) dropped in spite of two weak data releases in the States yesterday. However, the American figures piled the pressure on the Australian and New Zealand Dollars.

A brace of poor data releases in the US appears to have had hardly any weakening effect on the US Dollar. The latest US Advance Retail Sales numbers, published yesterday afternoon along with this month’s American Consumer Confidence survey, had the combined effect of hammering the final nail in the coffin of any thoughts which investors may have been holding that the US Federal Reserve will be cutting Quantitative Easing this side of Christmas.

The numbers revealed that the level of shop sales had dropped in the States last month and the prevailing mood of gloom regarding America’s economic recovery was added to by a dismal Consumer Confidence survey, released a couple of hours later. The gauge of positivity amongst American economic participants printed at 71.2, significantly down from September’s showing of 80.2 and well below analysts’ expectations of a 75.0 showing. The figure appears to suggest that the partial US government shutdown, which marred the first half of this month, has had a strongly detrimental effect on levels of optimism across the pond.

Price action for the US Dollar in the wake of the dual releases suggests that the vast majority of investors had already priced-in a continuance of QE at $85bn into next year. The Dollar actually registered gains against Sterling yesterday afternoon, sending the Pound Dollar exchange rate (GBP/USD) down to well within striking distance of the psychologically key 1.6000 threshold. The US data had a more predictable effect on the Commodity Dollars, sending the Pound Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) and Pound New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rates up into the 1.6900s and 1.9400s respectively.

The Pound to US Dollar exchange rate (GBP/USD) is currently trading down by 0.62% at 1.6045 GBP/USD. The US Dollar to Pound exchange rate is currently trading at 0.6232 USD/GBP.

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