Pound Australian dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate soars thanks to downbeat trade
The pound Australian dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate is skyrocketing today, underpinned by this morning’s cautious trading conditions.
At the time of writing the GBP/AUD exchange rate is trading at $1.9478, up roughly 0.6% from this morning’s rate.
Pound (GBP) holds steady following BRC retail sales monitor
The pound (GBP) is managing to stay above ground against the majority of its peers this morning, surging against its riskier counterparts, following the publication of some mid-tier domestic data.
The British Retail Consortium’s latest retail sales monitor was released earlier this morning, and rose from 0.3% to 0.8%, in line with market expectations.
Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, commented following the release:
‘Sales growth picked up in August, particularly for food as people came together to host barbecue and picnic gatherings for family and friends, and for summer clothing, health & beauty products as people prepared for trips away and summer social events. While computing did well as university students made the most of summer discounting and readied themselves for the new academic year, other back to school related sales were weaker than normal as some families opted for second hand purchases.’
However, the pound’s primary upside has come from this morning’s decrease in risk appetite, as Sterling continues to rise against its risker rivals.
Australian dollar (AUD) plummets amid risk-off flows
The Australian dollar (AUD) has plunged against the majority of its peers this morning as markets return to gloomy trade.
As investors opt for safer assets, the acutely risk-sensitive ‘Aussie’ is slumping against its safer rivals.
Further undermining AUD exchange rates this morning is a lack of market moving data from Australia.
With domestic data thin on the ground alongside souring trading conditions, the Australian currency will likely remain the defensive for the remainder of today’s European session.
GBP/AUD exchange rate forecast: Australian data in the spotlight
Looking ahead, the primary catalyst of movement for the pound Australian dollar exchange rate looking ahead to tomorrow will likely be the publication of Australia’s latest GDP reading.
The yearly figure is forecast to come in at 1% for the second quarter of the year, down from a previous reading of 1.1% in Q1, and could serve to undermine the ‘Aussie’ should the data confirm another lacklustre growth reading.
Also scheduled for release tomorrow is Australia’s finalised Judo Bank services PMI for August.
Will an expected increase from 50.4 to 52.2 be able to cushion some of AUD’s potential losses? Or will the data print to the downside and further weigh on the Australian currency?
Turning to the pound, the UK will also release its finalised services PMI for August, which will likely support GBP exchange rates should the data print as expected and confirm another strong reading in the expansion zone (a score above 50).