The Pound has fallen against the Australian Dollar at the end of the week after some very disappointing UK economic data.
UK Retail Sales showed a drop year on year for December to 0.9% from the expectation of 2.6%.
This highlights a real problem for the high street in what is typically one of its busiest periods of the year.
The Bank of England have already hinted that they may be gearing up to cut interest rates so with consumers not spending as much as expected could this give the central bank enough evidence to warrant a rate cut towards the end of this month?
Earlier in the week on Wednesday the UK also confirmed a fall in the inflation level. Typically if inflation is falling then a central bank will often look to cut rates to stimulate the economy. Therefore, could this be another factor in the Bank of England’s decision?
The Bank of England are due to meet on 30th January so if we see an interest rate cut happening this could cause movement for GBPAUD exchange rates.
Chinese problems cause issues for the Australian Dollar
In the meantime the Australian Dollar has also experienced its own problems. According to the recent data China’s economy has grown by just 6.1% last year which is its lowest growth on record in almost thirty years.
The US China trade wars appear to have moved forward but during last year it is clear that they had an impact on the Chinese economy.
Back in 1990 Chinese growth was 3.9% so even though the growth was measured at 6.1% it is still a lot stronger.
However, as far as the Australian Dollar is concerned as China is its largest trading partner any slowdown in the world’s second largest economy can have a negative impact on the value of the Australian Dollar.
By Tom Holian
Source: Pound Sterling Forecast