The latest drop in oil prices served to put sell pressure on commodity-linked currencies, including the Aussie, Kiwi and Canadian Dollars. The OPEC countries announced oil production targets which failed to meet investors’ expectations. Both OPEC members and non-OPEC members decided yesterday to extend oil output cuts through to March 2018, another nine months, given the current global glut which has resulted in a significant drop in oil revenues and prices dropping by a half. The general weakness in oil-linked currencies provide some relief to the beleaguered US Dollar.
As reported at 10:38 am (JST) in Tokyo, the AUD/USD was trading at $0.7449, down 0.11%; the NZD/USD was edging higher at $0.7021, a gain of 0.06%. The Canadian Dollar, aka the Loonie, was down 0.1090% to trade at C$1.3474.
Pound Lower after Election Poll
The Pound Sterling was also under some pressure in the aftermath of the latest opinion poll which indicated the Labor Party was encroaching on the Conservative Party’s lead. The national election will be held on June 8, 2017. The Pound was already under some pressure after preliminary GDP growth was shown to have slowed in Q1 by 0.2% (quarter-over-quarter) and 2.0% (year-over-year), missing forecasts of 0.3% and 2.1%, respectively. The GBP/USD was trading at $1.2902, down 0.29%.