Good morning and welcome to today’s foreign exchange market commentary on 31st of May.
Here are MyCurrencyTransfer.com’s top 5 currency highlights:
- GBP/EUR up despite mixed response from UK housing
- Good week for EUR despite social crisis threat
- USD trims losses on strong US data
- Yen appreciates as BoJ pledges to buy more JGBs
- AUD pressurized by speculations on quantitative easing policy
CURRENCY RATES OVERVIEW
GBP/EURO – 1.1695
GBP/USD – 1.5182
GBP/CHF – 1.4552
GBP/CAD – 1.5691
GBP/AUD – 1.5805
GBP/ZAR – 15.2866
GBP/JPY – 153.1437
GBP/HKD – 11.7853
GBP/NZD – 1.9044
GBP/SEK – 10.0560
Mid-market rates as of 2013-05-31 16:00 UTC
Key releases in the next 24 hours that may affect currency date:
Australia: No Data
Europe: EUR Euro-Zone Consumer Price Index – Core (YoY) (MAY A)
United Kingdom: GBP GfK Consumer Confidence Survey (MAY)
New Zealand: NZD Terms of Trade Index (QoQ) (1Q),
United States of America: USD Gross Domestic Product (Annualized) (1Q S), USD Personal Consumption (1Q S), USD Gross Domestic Product Price Index (1Q S), USD Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (QoQ) (1Q S), USD Initial Jobless Claims (MAY 25), USD Pending Home Sales (YoY) (APR)
China: No Data
Canada: CAD Quarterly Gross Domestic Product Annualized (1Q), CAD Gross Domestic Product (MoM) (MAR) (MAR), CAD Gross Domestic Product (YoY) (MAR) (MAR)
Japan: JPY Nomura/JMMA Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index (MAY), JPY Household Spending (YoY) (APR), JPY Jobless Rate (APR), JPY National Consumer Price Index (YoY) (APR), JPY National Consumer Price Index Ex-Fresh Food (YoY) (APR), JPY National Consumer Price Index Ex Food, Energy (YoY) (APR), JPY Industrial Production (YoY) (APR P)
GBP/EUR up despite mixed response from UK housing
UK property finance market generated mixed response during yesterday’s morning trading session and the GBP reacted by making significant advance against the EUR sending the pair up to as high as 1.1715 earlier on. On an optimistic note, last month’s Net Lending Secured on UK Dwellings beat expectations of £0.5bn considerably to post a strong showing at £0.9bn. UK’s coalition government is likely to see the figure as a sign to scale back quantitative easing policies.
Good week for EUR despite social crisis threat
The Euro performed well during the week despite undergoing some patches of volatility. However the Eurozone’s economic health continues to disappoint, with regional Unemployment Rate rising to 12.2% in April while the youth Unemployment Rate (25 years old and under) rose at a staggering rate and is now at 62.5%. The social crisis that could materialize from the Eurozone status is more of a concrn for its leaders currently as compared to its economic growth.
USD trims losses on strong US data
USD cutback its losses yesterday as its movement was propelled by strong US data. The Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment in May was stronger than expected and this news in combination with optimistic results from the Chicago PMI have propelled the USD to fresh highs to around 83.65, as the Fed gets ready to resume discussions on scaling back of quantitative easing policies next week.
Yen appreciates as BoJ pledges to buy more JGBs
The Yen appreciated against the greenback yesterday as Bank of Japan (BoJ) pledged to push up frequency of its Japanese Government Bond (JGB) purchases, but this movement in the value of the Yen is expected to be short-lived as the BoJ enacts its QE policy over the coming months.
AUD pressurized by speculations on quantitative easing policy
AUD came under intense pressure this past week as expectations were rife for monetary policy changes and this served to lower demand for the currency. Over the month of May AUD/USD pair movement has been accompanied by an increasingly narrowing yield spread between benchmark US and Australian 10-year bond yields.
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