Australian Dollar gains value after RBA Minutes

The Aussie Dollar strengthened overnight after the Reserve Bank minutes showed that its board were not close to cutting interest rates, which remain at 2%. Despite concerns over the property market, it appears that Australian interest rates are now stable, having been at 2% for 5 months, and as a result the Australian Dollar has stopped falling against the Pound.

For those of you moving down under, this means that GBP-AUD rates may have seen their peak already. The Aussie weakened 23% between November 2014 and August 2015, making Australian property, goods and services significantly cheaper for Brits – but has moved back 5% in the other direction in the last couple of months. If you are planning to send money to Australia for any reason, don’t forget that you can still lock in to these excellent exchange rates up to a year in advance with a Forward Contract from Currency Index.

Quiet day for European markets

Closer to home there is very little to report on the economic calendar. Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, is due to give a speech this morning, but there is no important data until tomorrow’s public sector borrowing figures. Headlines about the decline of the UK steel industry are likely to hurt the Pound, although the UK’s deal to see £5bn of Chinese investment into British projects has helped slightly. We currently have the best rates for buying both Euros and US Dollars for a month, so with question marks over the UK economy remaining, it’s well worth considering a currency purchase now for any requirements you have in the coming months.