Pound to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) Exchange Rate- ‘Aussie’ retreats, forecast to fall further on Thursday

The Australian Dollar gave up most of the gains it made on Tuesday against the Pound as investors awaited the release of the minutes for the Bank of England’s last policy meeting and UK unemployment rate reports.

The ‘Aussie’ was also weighed upon after data showed that domestic wages rose at a weak pace in the fourth quarter of last year. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, wages excluding bonuses rose by a seasonally adjusted figure of 0.7% in the fourth quarter and climbed by 2.6% on a yearly basis. The figure was the worst on record. Investors did take some positives out of the data as it shows that inflation is under control and that interest rate rises expected by some are less likely to occur.

“These data reinforce Reserve Bank of Australia rhetoric that wage and likely general inflation remain under control. A weak labour market and low wages growth raise some doubts that the RBA can rely on strong household consumption growth to drive the economy forward,” said a strategist at Macquarie Bank.

On Thursday the Australian Dollar is likely to weaken further as economists expect manufacturing out of China will show a contraction. In recent months Chinese manufacturing PMI reports have been edging lower and tomorrow’s report is likely to follow suit which will have a negative effect on the ‘Aussie’ and New Zealand Dollar.

The Pound meanwhile recovered the ground it lost yesterday and snapped two-day declines against the US Dollar and Euro as investors expect today’s unemployment rate report will show that the jobless rate held at 7.1%, matching the lowest figure seen in five years.

Australian Dollar (AUD) Exchange Rates

[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Australian Dollar,,US Dollar,0.9022 ,
Australian Dollar,, Pound Sterling,0.5395 ,
Australian Dollar,,Euro,0.6562 ,
Australian Dollar,,New Zealand Dollar,1.0838 ,
Pound Sterling,,Australian Dollar,1.8467 ,
US Dollar,,Australian Dollar,1.1081 ,
Euro,,Australian Dollar,1.5241 ,
[/table]