In the early hours of tomorrow morning the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures will be released for Quarter 2. The Year on Year figure is expected to show a slight improvement however the Quarter on Quarter figure is expected to show a slight decline. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surprised markets last week suggesting they plan to raise interest rates by 2% over the next few years. This caused the GBP/AUD exchange rate to fall by 3 cents creating major optimism for the AUD moving forwards.
If the latest Australian inflation data tomorrow comes in better than expected that may provide an indication that the RBA could act sooner rather than later. There will be an interest rate decision on the 1st August and at that point a hike could happen.
What this does mean is that anyone who is looking to purchase Australian Dollars may well be prudent to consider trading sooner rather than later. If the RBA are going to raise interest rates by up to 2% over the next few of years, that means they’re very positive about the near future and they have laid their cards on the table.
Converting Pounds to Australian Dollars
Now that the RBA have declared their intentions the general trend for the GBP/AUD rate is likely to be downwards. There isn’t much support for Sterling at the moment and an interest rate hike in the UK looks like a distant hope.
If you do need to purchase Australian Dollars in the coming months, it may be worth acting sooner rather than later. Alternatively if you’re selling Australian Dollars the next month could see the rate drop to a 4-year low.