gbp-aud-forex

The Australian Dollar is plummeting versus the Pound on Thursday. Panic has set in within the financial markets in a big way and the perceived risker currency the Australian dollar dropping fast.

At 14:30 UTC, GBP/AUD is trading +0.8% at 1.9930. This is at the upper end of the trading range as it looks to take 2.00 once again.

Pound Broadly Lower As Delay Phase Comes

Sterling is trading broadly lower versus its major peers, albeit higher versus the Australian Dollar. The Pound is out of favour as the UK is set to enter the second stage of its response to coronavirus.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is chairing an emergency COBRA meeting today, which is set to see the UK move from stage one “containment” to stage two “delay”. Stage two is aimed at delaying the spread of coronavirus. This will most likely be through social distancing measures, such as working from home, keeping vulnerable people isolated and could include the banning of large-scale public meetings. Schools are not expected to close just yet.

Brexit is also concerning investors. Brexit headlines seem quite distant compared to coronavirus. However, Brexit talks have already been postponed by a week. The fear is that they could be delayed further owing to coronvirus. The Brexit trade deal talks were already on a very tight timeline. Any delay increases the chances of a no trade deal Brexit.

Australian Economy Bracing For Hit

Risk is off. Stock markets across the globe have dumped around 8% in record falls as investors move out of riskier assets. The fresh bout of risk off trading comes following the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring a pandemic and Trump banning travel from 26 European countries to the US (for foreigners).

Trump’s travel ban added steep pressure to an already very fragile situation. Whilst there have been stimulus measures announced across the globe investors are unsure that they will be sufficient to stave off a recession.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has already cut interest rates. The central bank also estimated that coronavirus will slash Australia’s tourism and education exports by 10% in the March quarter, with inbound flights from China down 90% since January. RBA Governor Dr Lowe said that low interest rates and a forth coming stimulus package would help the economy bounce back.