AUD News: Click Frenzy and US/China trade war progress provides AUD bonus for Aussie travellers

The Aussie dollar has rebounded slightly after an abysmal decline in value at the end of last week. You may be thinking ‘yay, this is great news’. Well, hold on to your hats because we’ve got even greater news coming your way.

 

This week, from Tuesday 26th of Feb to Friday 1st of March 2019, Travel Money Oz is taking part in Click Frenzy, offering amazing, frenzalicious bonuses on select online currency orders*. With this in mind, one Aussie dollar will buy you:

 

0.7046 US dollars

77.2667 Japanese yen 

0.6147 euros

0.5319 Great British pound

0.9023 Canadian dollars

1.0717 New Zealand dollars

0.9298 Singapore dollars

 

To put this into perspective, exchanging $2000AUD today compared to last Friday 22nd of February 2019 will get you a bonus:

 

$29.20 USD, or 13 hamburgers from In-N-Out. 

¥4,633.40 JPY, or 9 bowls of ramen.

€29 EUR, or 14 croissants in Paris.

£17.20 GBP, or 6 pints in a UK pub.

$41.60 CAD, or 5 bowls of poutine.

$134.20 NZD, or 11 classic Fergburgers in Queenstown.

$48 SGB, or 12 bowls of laksa

 

 

I don’t know about you, but nothing screams ‘buy now’ more than the opportunity to fill my pockets with 14 croissants in Paris at no extra cost to me. Merry Frenzymas everyone. 

 

 

Now for a look at what is affecting the Aussie dollar. 

 

Overnight, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced his party would back a new Brexit referendum. This would only occur if the Conservative government failed to accept Labour’s current plan that includes a permanent customs union with the European Union, continued workers’ rights that mirror those of the EU, and close ties with the EU single market (in other words, better trade deals).

 

If British Prime Minister Theresa May does not accept these alternative Brexit deal amendments, Corbyn will begin his push for a second referendum.

 

This comes as PM May faces growing pressure to close a deal or seek an amendment of Article 50 to avoid the United Kingdom jumping out of the EU aeroplane with no parachute (or deal) on March 29 2019, the current Brexit deadline. 

 

Despite MPs calling for another meaningful vote as soon as possible, Theresa May has announced the next vote will be on the 12th of March. This gives the UK 17 days to sort themselves out before they leave the EU. The countdown is on!

 

Sure, 17 days sounds like a lot. However the UK has had two years, or 730 days, to get their act together. Time is running out, and all politicians have done for the last month or two is talk and talk without actually deciding on anything. 

 

The ongoing political dribble that surrounds Brexit will continue to influence the value of the GBP. We recommend adding Rate Guard to your purchase in store. That way, if the pound rate improves within 14 days of purchase we will refund you the difference^. 

 

As much as this sucks for the UK, the fact that Aussie travellers may see better GBP rates as a result of these shenanigans is definitely an upside to us having to endure two years (and probably more) of Brexit filling up our news feeds. 

 

Extended trade talks between Chinese and American officials have reportedly been successfully moving the countries towards positive territory. This is good news for all involved and has seen spill-on effects for the value of the Aussie dollar. 

 

On Sunday, President Trump sent out a string of tweets commenting on the “substantial process” of these bilateral talks, as well as his plans to delay a set of additional tariffs on Chinese exports into the US that were planned to begin on March 1 2019. Trump did not outline a new deadline for these exports. 

 

You can imagine the United Kingdom’s surprise when a few months worth of negotiations (not a few years) resulted in positive progress. Perhaps they can learn a few things from these trade talks ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

The delay of these tariffs provided some much needed upward pressure on the value of the Aussie dollar. This is great news for you, the Aussie traveller! 

 

The other US-centric news to keep an eye on this week will be the appearance of Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday night (Australian time). 

 

The market will be paying close attention to this, trying to get a gauge on where the Fed currently sits with regard to any future interest rate increases (or decreases, for that matter!). 

 

Last Friday, the Fed released its monetary policy report which Powell will presumably talk about during this appearance. The Fed paused its rate hike stance late last year in the face of softer global economic and financial conditions as well as some extreme volatility (in the share markets, at least) which they see as being “less supportive of economic growth”. 

 

If you’re an Aussie traveller, keep your fingers crossed for no interest rate increases in the US, as this will reduce the amount of downward pressure on the value of the AUD.

 

Last week it was reported that the Northern Chinese port, Dalian, had banned coal imports from Australia. This comes after the process of clearing coal has doubled in time to almost 40 days. Officials are still trying to clarify whether these are just delays, or a full ban. 

 

Australian Trade Minister, Simon Birmingham, said “I want to provide reassurance that we have no basis to believe that there is a ban on Australian coal exports into China or into any part of China.”

 

At this stage, there is no reason to stress. It is worth keeping an eye on any updates as they filter through, as a ban on coal imports could have a negative impact on the value of the Aussie Dollar.