Tuesday 3rd March 2015
At 3:30am this morning the Reserve Bank of Australia announced its decision on interest rates. The consensus was that they would cut rates to 2.00%, and that had already been priced into the market as it was widely expected. However, the RBA decided to leave rates on hold at 2.25%.
Australian Inflation had fallen to a 6 year low, and the lack of Chinese demand had meant everyone thought a rate cut was on the cards in order to boost their cooling economy. It looks however like they are hoping the rate cut in China will boost demand.
What does this mean for the GBP/AUD exchange rate?
It caused the Australian Dollar to gain strength, and as you can see from the chart below the GBP/AUD rate fell from $1.98 to the low $1.96’s. You can see the immediate drop the moment the decision was announced:
What's happening with Sterling/Euro rates?
The Sterling to Euro exchange rate over the last week has continued to strengthen, touching €1.38 over the weekend before dropping back into the €1.37’s. As the European Central Bank starts it’s Quantitative Easing programme in earnest, this and the ongoing saga in Greece continues to drive this currency pair.
The negotiations over Greece’s debt seem to be making slow progress, and I think as and when a full agreement is put in place, this could start to give the Euro back some strength. We also have the election coming up in a few months which could also cause uncertainty and weakness for Sterling.
For the moment however, 7 year highs are available for those that need to buy Euros.
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Labels: Best Exchange Rates, Currency, Forecast, Forecasts for Sterling and Euro, GBPAUD, GBPEUR, Interest Rates, When to Buy Euros
