Pound Sterling
The Pound weakened against its peers following the release of disappointing retail sales figures but reversed those losses in the afternoon after Eurozone GDP and US balance of trade data came in worse than expected.
Currently the Pound is trading in the region of 1.1917 against the Euro and 1.6035 against the US Dollar.
US Dollar
The ‘Greenback’ spent much of the session higher against the Euro following the release of data which showed that the single currency bloc’s GDP expanded less than expected in the third quarter. The ‘Greenback’ managed to edge higher after Janet Yellen the favoured replacement to Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Governor affirmed that if she takes the Banks top job then stimulus measures will continue until the US economy shows strong signs of improvement.
Currently the US Dollar is trading in the region of 0.6236 against the Pound and 0.7432 against the Euro.
The Euro
The Euro weakened against the Pound and US Dollar after data showed that the Eurozone’s GDP expanded slower than expected in the third quarter of the year. According to the Luxembourg based statistics office GDP in the Eurozone increased by just 0.1% in the third quarter, down from the previous growth rate of 0.3% expansion recorded in the previous quarter. The figure was below the 0.14% increase forecast by economists. Germany expanded slower than expected and France contracted, increasing worries that the region’s economic recovery is faltering.
Currently the Euro is trading in the region of 0.8390 against the Pound and 1.3454 against the US Dollar.
Australian Dollar
The ‘Aussie’ is weaker against the US Dollar and a number of major peers as uncertainty as to when the US Federal Reserve will cut its $85 billion per month quantitative easing programme continues to weigh upon commodity and emerging market currencies. As a result of comments made by Janet Yellen, commodity based currencies rallied early in the session but by the afternoon currencies such as the Australian Dollar tumbled as economists judged that they had risen too fast in response to Yellen’s comments.
Currently the Australian Dollar is trading in the region of 0.5807 against the Pound, 0.6921 against the Euro and 0.9312 against the US Dollar.
Canadian Dollar
The ‘Loonie’ tumbled close to a two-month low its biggest decline in three weeks against the ‘Greenback’ and slumped against the Pound and Euro. The fall came after investors deemed the currency’s recent gains as too rapid.
Currently the Canadian Dollar is trading in the region of 0.5951 against the Pound, 0.7092 against the Euro and 0.9542 against the US Dollar.
