GBP/NZD News: Despite the positivity of some post-referendum data the Pound has struggled to maintain a bullish trend against rivals, particularly with risk appetite boosting the New Zealand Dollar
The British Pound experienced considerable gains against the New Zealand Dollar on the final day of trading, though this is mainly due to damaging NZ data coming out.
For the NZD the drop in retail and base card spending on the month in August has severely lowered confidence in the currency, due to formerly positive figures falling into negative ranges for both fields.
This has been to the benefit of the GBP, which has elsewhere seen losses against peers due to a still-negative construction output figure on the year in July.
The GBP/NZD exchange rate moved away from the week’s worst levels on Thursday afternoon as the market’s bullish appetite for the risk-correlated New Zealand Dollar faded.
Investors drew their attention towards the Euro on Thursday afternoon following a surprisingly hawkish ECB meeting. This and a better-than-forecast US jobless claims report saw some investors stepping away from risk for the day.
Even though Pound Sterling (GBP) got off to a solid start this week the mood towards the currency has generally deteriorated, with Brexit uncertainty returning to the fore the Pound has fallen against the Euro, US Dollar and New Zealand Dollar.
July’s UK production data offered a mixed picture of the domestic economy, encouraging more investors to profit take as the impact of the referendum is likely to continue hanging over the Pound for the foreseeable future.
As risk appetite has also been on the up this saw the Pound Sterling to New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate weaken further, sliding into the region of a fresh three-week low.
Latest Pound/New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rates
On Friday the Pound to British Pound exchange rate (GBP/GBP) converts at 1
The GBP to GBP exchange rate converts at 1 today.
At time of writing the pound to us dollar exchange rate is quoted at 1.237.
The GBP to AUD exchange rate converts at 1.927 today.
NB: the forex rates mentioned above, revised as of 19th Apr 2024, are inter-bank prices that will require a margin from your bank. Foreign exchange brokers can save up to 5% on international payments in comparison to the banks.
Confidence in Pound Sterling (GBP) exchange rates failed to pick up in response to the RICS House Price Balance for August, despite the measure bettering forecast to clock in at 12% rather than the predicted 2%.
Investors remained deterred by dovish commentary from Bank of England (BoE) Governor Mark Carney, who indicated confidence in the bank’s forecasts and maintained that a further interest rate cut was possible in the near future and sent Pound Sterling (GBP) on a downtrend against its major rivals.
The prospect of further easing has naturally been weighing on the appeal of the Pound, particularly as uncertainty continues to surround the details of the Brexit issue and the timing of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
Expectations remain muted for the UK economy over coming months, with researchers at RBS noting:
‘Our central case remains for the UK economy to experience a material slowdown over the next few quarters, with recent developments in several important global indicators suggest more obvious downside risks are building.’
GBP/NZD Exchange Rate Remains Weighed Down by Risk Appetite
Better-than-expected Chinese trade data helped to keep markets in a more risk-positive mentality on Thursday, benefitting New Zealand Dollar (NZD) exchange rates in spite of a lack of fresh domestic data.
Investors remain confident that the chances of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates before the end of the year is an increasingly limited likelihood, diminishing demand for the US Dollar (USD) and boosting the appeal of the higher-yielding ‘Kiwi’.
Even with the pricing for an imminent Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) rate cut high the GBP/NZD exchange rate has been unable to gain particular traction, with market favour for the ‘Kiwi’ remaining strong.
Weaker Consumer Spending Could Dent New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Exchange Rates
Sentiment towards the New Zealand Dollar could falter ahead of the weekend, however, if the latest domestic card spending results point towards a weakening in consumer confidence.
Should spending have remained strong, though, the GBP/NZD exchange rate is likely to remain on a downtrend, given the persistent buoyance of the ‘Kiwi’.
Nevertheless, if July’s UK trade deficit is found to have narrowed further then the Pound could find some support on Friday, despite ongoing worries.