Pound Staggers Against a Rising Euro Following Strong Economic Data From Germany

The Australian Dollar is pushing higher versus the Pound on Thursday, extending gains for a fourth straight session. The Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate settled -0.25% at 1.9283 on Thursday.

At 09:15 UTC, GBP/AUD is trading down -0.6% at 1.9150. This is at the lower end of the daily traded range of 1.9148 – 1.9330 after the Bank of England warned of the worst recession in 300 years and after upbeat Chinese export data.

BoE Keeps Rates At 0.1%

The BoE voted 7-2 to keep interest rates on hold at the record low level of 0.1%. The central bank also decided to stay pat on its bond buying programme. The decision to keep monetary policy unchanged is not that surprising given that the central bank has loosened monetary policy significantly over the past two months to cushion the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on the economy.

The BoE projects a -14% contraction in GDP this year, with unemployment expected to increase to 9% and inflation set to fall below 1%. The second quarter alone, the BoE forecasts that UK economy will be 30% smaller, this is a larger hit than most were forecasting. The BoE also warned that the recovery will be gradual and rocky, with GDP and unemployment expected to return to pre-coronavirus levels at some point next year.

However, this will ultimately depend on the UK’s lockdown exit strategy, how successful it is and how quickly Britain reopens its economy. Investors will now turn their attention to Boris Johnson and his plans to ease the UK lockdown.

Chinese Export Data +3.5% vs -15.7%

The Australian Dollar is bounding higher on Thursday thanks to some surprisingly good Chinese export data. Chinese exports rose 3.5% in April on an annual basis. This smashed analysts’ expectations of a -15.7% decline. Analysts suggest that a surge in medical exports of antiviral medical supplies could have boosted the figures. Factories were also fulfilling a backlog of orders as workers headed back to work.

Given that China is Australia’s largest trading partner, the Australian dollar is considered a proxy for China. The strong data from China has lifted the Aussie Dollar.