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GBP/AUD is bearish on Thursday, but it still maintains above 2.00. Currently, the pair is trading at 2.0338, down 0.22% as of 7:15 AM UTC.

The UK has reported the biggest daily increase in coronavirus-related deaths, as fatalities rose by 563 to 2,352 as of Wednesday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who himself tested positive for COVID-19, said that it was a “sad, sad day.” He added in a video message shared via Twitter:

But let’s be in no doubt that if we can follow the programme that we are currently set upon, if we can comply with the measures that we’ve embarked on together, then I have absolutely no doubt that we will begin to start to push those numbers down.”

UK House Prices Beat Expectations in March

The sterling ignored housing market data showing that British house prices rose last month at their fastest annual rate since January 2018. Investors focused on the fact that the market is slowing down amid the social distancing measures imposed by the government.

Nationwide said earlier today that house prices rose 3.0% year-on-year, beating analysts’ forecasts of a 2.0% increase.

Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner commented:

It is important to note that, while we use a full month’s worth of data to generate the index, the cut-off point is slightly before the end of the month. This means that developments following the UK government’s lockdown will not be reflected in these figures.”

The mortgage lender said that recovery in the housing market is heading to a halt after Johnson’s shutdown of entire industries. The government required citizens to avoid moving house during the pandemic.

Gardner explained that a lack of transactions would make it difficult to measure price trends in the coming months.

In London alone, house prices increased by an annual rate of 1% in the first three months of 2020, after 10 straight negative quarters.

Yesterday, Australian consultancy CoreLogin presented a similar picture. Australian home prices extend their gains last month, but conditions are expected to deteriorate due to the coronavirus outbreak. House prices across the country’s capital cities gained 0.7% in March in monthly terms and 8.9% year-on-year.