Sterling Stands still Against the Australian Dollar

Wondering where the Australian dollar exchange rate is going versus sterling?

Here is Peter's wrap up for this week. Want to know more? Ask him. Fill in the form below and get your answer.

Peter Lavelle with specialist foreign exchange broker Pure FX - 10.06.2011.

If sterling and the Australian dollar were armies facing each other in the trenches - neither would have gained ground this week.

The sterling to Australian dollar exchange rate has resembled a heart flatlining on a monitor this week or a disappointing mountain that more resembles a field in Holland. I mean of course that not much has happened between the two currencies. This is in spite of a veritable feast of economic data - both good and bad. Let's take a look at the highlights.

The million dollar question in the last week has been if the RBA was going to raise interest rates. Inflation in Australia has neared the bank's 3.0% ceiling in recent weeks - putting an interest rate rise on the cards. This though did not happen - putting a hole in the emu dollar's sails.

Furthermore job creation data from Australia proved a damp squib last week too. Just 7.8k new jobs were created last month compared to 25.0k forecasts. On the other hand home loans increased 4.8% in April according to recent figures - indicating banks are more willing to lend. This indicates economic conditions are getting back to normal post-global recession.

In Britain meanwhile there's been a West End musical's worth of discouraging data of late. Growth in manufacturing and services dropped beneath forecasts last month while house prices also fell - declining -4.2%. Just the latest trade balance figures have been positive - indicating that Britain is beginning to encourage exports. This ought boost growth and therefore help sterling.