GBP NZD Exchange Rate Tumbles Following QE Comments from Chancellor

The Pound to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate has plummeted this afternoon following comments from UK Chancellor Philip Hammond that he would be willing to approve additional quantitative easing.

Pound (GBP) New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Bludgeoned by Hammond QE Remarks

After trading relativity flatly for much of the day The Pound (GBP) nosedived against the New Zealand Dollar as the British Chancellor stated that he would approve further QE should the Bank of England (BoE) request it, adding;
‘No request for quantitative easing has ever been refused, and I can’t see why it would be different in future.’

The remarks have done little to reassure markets of the state of the UK economy following Britain’s vote to split from the EU, which investors fear may worsen should the government pursue a ‘hard Brexit’ during negotiations, likely causing British businesses to lose access to the single market.

Sterling Sentiment Down with Carney Due to Appear Before the House of Lords

The drop in the GBP NZD exchange rate has also been attributed to uncertainty ahead of BoE Governor Mark Carney's appearance at a House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, where he is expected to answer question on the state of the UK economy.

Investors will be looking for any hint of what direction next week’s BoE monetary policy decision might take as Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index, said:

‘The markets will primarily be looking for any hints that Carney and co. at the BoE have plans to cut interest rates further. The market has pretty much priced out the prospect of a near-term rate cut from the BoE, but a dovish tone from Carney could see the market start to re-price the prospect of a cut, and the pound could take a hit.’

Carney is also likely to be questioned about his future as Governor of the BoE as he previously said that he would decide by the end of the year whether he would be leave his post in 2018 or serve his full term until 2021.

GBP NZD Exchange Rate Forecast: Pound May Reach New All-Time Low

The Pound to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate currently sits dangerously close to the historic lows it reached last week, and current sentiment towards Sterling could see it collapse further.

GBP NZD may be able to push back tomorrow however as New Zealand domestic data on Wednesday looks set to show some economic stagnation as analysts forecast that there will be little change from the previous month’s reports. Although any gains would likely prove to be small as the impact of data on the Pound continues to drop as it becomes an increasingly politicised currency.

Current Interbank Exchange Rates

At the time of writing the GBP/NZD exchange rate was trending around 1.69 and the NZD/GBP exchange rate was trending around 0.58.