Exchange Rates Forecast: Pound to Australian Dollar & Pound to Euro Rates Outlook To Climb

Modified: Thursday, 13 February 2014 12:08 BST - Written by Ben Hughes

STORY LINK Exchange Rates Forecast: Pound to Australian Dollar & Pound to Euro Rates Outlook To Climb

The Australian Dollar exchange rate (currency:AUD) took a hit during the overnight Asian session thanks to a disappointing set of domestic unemployment figures in Australia. In what represented a double whammy for the Aussie, both the January Employment Change and overall Unemployment Rate data came out below analysts’ expectations. The upshot of the news sent the Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate (GBP/AUD) up to 1.8610 earlier on and although the pair is holding well below its range-topping 4 ½ year high, a move up towards this significant level at just northwards of 1.9000 GBP/AUD cannot be ruled out in the near term.

The Pound Sterling to Australian Dollar exchange rate is trading up +0.8% at 1.85558 GBP/AUD (at 12:15 GMT 13/02/2014)

Elsewhere, Pound Sterling has enjoyed a decent session so far today in spite of mildly disappointing UK house price data, released overnight by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. The house price balance figure for last month printed at 53% - below December’s counterpart showing of 56%. The figure shows that only slightly more UK chartered surveyors are anticipating an increase in British property prices than a decrease, suggesting that the forward move in the UK housing market over the past 12 months may now be running out of steam.

Meanwhile, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will rule out the possibility of an independent Scotland continuing to use the Pound Sterling as its legal tender should the Scottish people vote in favour of a break from the UK later this year. The development has been generally well-received by currency market participants who have continued to support Sterling following yesterday’s favourable Bank of England Quarterly Inflation Report.

The Pound Euro exchange rate is close to 13-Month High

Looking to mainland Europe, the Pound euro exchange rate (GBP/EUR) has hovered around the 1.2200 threshold for the whole of today’s European session – well within striking distance of its 13-month high which it touched off last month. This morning’s European Central Bank Monthly Report hasn’t helped the single currency’s prospects, revealing that the eurozone central bank has lowered its inflation forecast for 2014, 2015 and 2016. The news increases the chances that the ECB will further loosen its monetary policy before the Summer.

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TAGS: Australian Dollar Forecasts Euro Forecasts Euro Pound Forecasts Pound Austral Forecasts