Session Agenda

AUD/USD attracts some dip-buyers near mid-0.7000s during the Asian session on Monday, stalling last week's modest pullback from a three-year peak. The US Dollar continues with its struggle to attract any meaningful buyers amid bets for further rate cuts by the Fed, bolstered by the softer US CPI report on Friday. In contrast, the Australian Dollar retains a bullish bias on the back of the RBA's hawkish stance, which further acts as a tailwind for the currency pair.

USD/JPY kicks off the new week on a positive note as Japan's weak Q4 GDP growth tempers bets for an immediate BoJ rate hike and undermines the Japanese Yen. Investors, however, seem convinced that the BoJ will stick to its policy normalization path amid hopes that PM Takaichi's policies will boost the Japanese economy. In contrast, cooling US consumer inflation reaffirmed bets for more Fed rate cuts in 2026, which acts as a headwind for the US Dollar and should cap the currency pair.

Gold edges lower after registering over 2% gains in the previous session, trading around $5,030 per troy ounce during the Asian hours on Monday. However, the non-interest-bearing Gold could further gain ground following softer January Consumer Price Index figures, which reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut rates later this year.

The US jobs report for January, which was delayed slightly, didn’t do the dovish Fed bets any favours, as expectations of a soft print did not materialize, confounding the raft of weak job indicators seen in the prior week.

Realized inflation landed close to expectations in January, as negative base effects weighed on the annual rates. Remaining sticky inflation is largely explained by services, while tariff-driven goods inflation remains limited even in the US.

US GDP and PCE inflation are main highlights, plus the Fed minutes. UK and Japan have busy calendars too with focus on CPI. Flash PMIs for February will also be doing the rounds. RBNZ meets, is unlikely to follow RBA’s hawkish path.