Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) Exchange Rate News: Pound Gains 0.5% as Durable Goods Orders Slump
The Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate was able to rally back above the 1.49 level on Wednesday as the US issued less-than-impressive Durable Goods Orders data.
The ‘Greenback’ posted widespread declines after US Durable Goods Orders were shown to have fallen by -1.4% on the month in February rather than rising the 0.2% expected.
January’s gain was also negatively revised to 2.0%.
Economist Stephen Stanley said of the result; ‘Businesses have been extremely cautious. The economy hasn’t been especially strong. In particular, people have had their doubts about the sustainability of growth.’
The Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate was trading in the region of 1.4907
Meanwhile, the Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate held declines to continue trading in the region of 1.3575.
Earlier…
Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) Exchange Rate News: German Data Impresses, Euro Gains
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchanger rate held on to recent losses following the publication of Germany’s IFO confidence surveys.
The Business Climate measure increased from 106.8 to 107.9 – beating forecasts – while the Current Assessment index showed the improvement from 111.3 to 112.0 expected.
Finally, the Expectations number jumped from 102.5 to 103.9, higher than the anticipated reading of 103.0.
These reports are the latest in a string of above-forecast German ecostats and indicate that the Eurozone’s largest economy is powering on.
However, GBP/EUR declines were limited as the UK’s BBA Mortgage Approvals number for February came in at 37,300, a stronger-than-f0recast number and a sign of improvement in the UK’s housing sector.
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) currency pair is currently trending in the region of 1.3576
Earlier…
The downtrend in the Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) and Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rates could continue today if ecostats for the Eurozone and US come in at or above expected levels.
Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) Exchange Rate News: Pound Falls to 1.35 on ‘No-Flation’, Euro Boosted by Positive Data
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate lost around half a cent on Tuesday as better-than-forecast Manufacturing and Services PMI’s for Germany and the Eurozone lent the common currency support.
Hopes for a resolution to the Greek bailout negotiations also kept the Euro trending higher, and the softness in the GBP/EUR pairing was consolidated as the pace of UK inflation was shown to have slowed to a record-low level of zero percent.
The Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate hit a low of 1.3554
While a number of industry experts have claimed that lower inflation will benefit consumers and bolster UK growth, bets that the data will deter the Bank of England (BoE) from bringing forward interest rate hikes ensured that the Pound declined against the majority of its currency counterparts.
Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) Exchange Rate News: US Inflation Rises, Durable Goods Ahead
While the UK’s inflation report weighed on the Pound, the US Dollar was supported by an unexpected rise in US Consumer Prices.
With the rate of annual inflation in the world’s largest economy increasing from -0.1% to 0.0%, a summer rate revision from the Fed was put back on the table and the ‘Greenback’ posted widespread gains.
The Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate hit a low of 1.4831
Further US Dollar strength was derived from the fact that Markit’s Manufacturing PMI for the US showed a stronger-than-anticipated rate of expansion and a separate report revealed a surprising surge in domestic new home sales.
The main cause of Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate volatility in the hours ahead is likely to be the US Durable Goods Orders figure.
Durable Goods Orders are believed to have increased by 0.2% in February following a 2.8% rise in January.
A disappointing result may see the ‘Greenback’ retrace some of its recent advance.
Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) and Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) Exchange Rate Forecast
In the hours ahead the only UK report worth noting is the nation’s BBA Loans for House Purchase figure for February.
A number of 36650 is expected to follow the previous month’s reading of 36394.
Investors will also be looking ahead to tomorrow and the publication of UK retail sales numbers.
If sales are shown to have risen by 0.4% on the month, as economists predict, the Pound may approach the end of the week on a slightly firmer footing.
Sales declined by -0.7% in January, month-on-month.
The Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) exchange rate was trading in the region of 0.7374 the Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.4871, the US Dollar to Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) exchange rate was trading in the region of 0.6721, the Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.3554
