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Aussie Dollar: Central Banks in Focus

After a somewhat sluggish start to the week, Fed Dudley views on inflation confirm a unified Fed willing to look through the soft Q1 inflation print provided a spark to the dollar bulls.  But given that Dudley’s public edict is almost always fully in sync with that of Yellen, anything other would have been the shocker. While the markets remain dollar bid tentatively, there remains an air of uncertainty on this move as the USD reality check is likely only one bad US economic data print away.

What had the makings of a very productive trading week for the Aussie dollar was dealt a blow after Moody’s downgraded a group of the leading Australian banks. Discussion around the downgrade has overshadowed this morning RBA minutes and with the USD trading buoyant on hawkish Fed speak, theses external developments should continue to   weigh on near-term sentiment

Nonetheless, the Aussie remains supported on the dips as the downgrade reaction was far from an off the cliff scenario. And while  credit rating agency negative  downgrades can have a short-term impact,  they seldom have a lasting influence on currency markets even  more so given the market’s recent pivot to all things central banks which should  remain the centre of attention throughout the day

Risk appetite appears to be holding firm after Wall Street’s strong performance overnight in Tech stocks and investors overall enthusiasm over the state of the US economy. This

Nothing too worrisome for Aussie bulls in  this morning RBA  minutes as the Central Bank’s  views remain consistent and steady  but worth noting  the  minutes  did not take into consideration their views of the bumper Jobs report last week

Author

Stephen Innes

Stephen Innes

SPI Asset Management

With more than 25 years of experience, Stephen has a deep-seated knowledge of G10 and Asian currency markets as well as precious metal and oil markets.

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