Philip Lowe delivered a speech late last night providing his latest thoughts on the Australian economy. He suggested that the recent struggles were down to the housing market sighting a shortage of new homes as the issue, opposed to the cost of mortgages whilst interest levels are at 1.5% which analysts had alluded to recently.
Currency Pair | % Change in 1 month | Difference on £200,000 | |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | ![]() | 4.69% | $16,780 |
Governor Lowe also declared that the bank remains deeply concerned regarding the current levels of wage growth and the RBA have an expectation that this will have a knock onto consumer spending in the near future. Arguably suggesting that there is still more trouble expected with the economy in the next few months.
To add further woes the Gross Domestic Product data for Q4 missed expectations for the quarter on quarter and year on year. With the year on year data coming in at 2.3%, 0.5% below the 2.8% seen in Q4 in 2017. The release was expected to be at 2.5% however with that missed there is even more cause for concern moving forward as further growth concerns may cause the RBA to have to act.
In the last ten days alone the pound to US dollar rate has risen by over 6 cents presenting a great opportunity for those clients looking to purchasing Australian dollars. Anyone looking to sell Aussies should seriously consider the comments from Australian Bank Westpac who are predicting there could be two interest rate cuts this year.
Considering many of the leading economies around the world are looking to raise rates cutting could have a major impact on the Australian dollar, I would not be surprised to see the GBP/AUD back trading near 2.00 in 2019, arguable making the levels now for selling AUD very desirable.
If you’re looking to complete a currency make sure you’re in contact with your broker to discuss your best options.