AUD/USD slumps to near 0.6500 as US Dollar snaps five-day losing streak

AUD/USD tumbles to near 0.6500 as the US Dollar outperforms its peers.
The US Dollar gains ahead of the US ISM Manufacturing PMI data for August.
Investors await key Australian Q2 GDP data.

Sagar Dua FXStreet

The AUD/USD pair is down 0.7% to near 0.6500 during the late European trading session on Tuesday. The Aussie pair plunges as the US Dollar (USD) outperforms ahead of the release of the United States (US) ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for August, which will be published at 14:00 GMT.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, snaps five-day losing streak and jumps to near 98.40 after bouncing back strongly from the monthly low around 97.50.

US Dollar Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the British Pound.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.66%	1.26%	1.00%	0.31%	0.68%	0.84%	0.59%
EUR	-0.66%		0.59%	0.35%	-0.35%	0.06%	0.18%	-0.08%
GBP	-1.26%	-0.59%		-0.24%	-0.93%	-0.54%	-0.41%	-0.66%
JPY	-1.00%	-0.35%	0.24%		-0.70%	-0.34%	-0.16%	-0.39%
CAD	-0.31%	0.35%	0.93%	0.70%		0.35%	0.56%	0.26%
AUD	-0.68%	-0.06%	0.54%	0.34%	-0.35%		0.13%	-0.13%
NZD	-0.84%	-0.18%	0.41%	0.16%	-0.56%	-0.13%		-0.26%
CHF	-0.59%	0.08%	0.66%	0.39%	-0.26%	0.13%	0.26%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).

The Manufacturing PMI is seen higher at 49.0 against 48.0 in July, suggesting that the business activity contracted again but at a moderate pace. A figure below the 50.0 threshold is considered a contraction in business activity.

This week, US labor market-related data will be key trigger for the US Dollar. Investors will notably monitor the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data to get fresh cues about the current status of job demand.

In August, market expectations for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to cut interest rates in the September policy meeting intensified after the July’s NFP report showed a dramatic downward revision in employment numbers of May and June.

In Australia, investors await Q2 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, which is scheduled to be published on Wednesday. Economists expect the Australian economy to have grown by 0.5%, faster than 0.2% increase seen in the first quarter of the year. On an annualized basis, the Australian economy is seen rising by 1.6%.

Economic Indicator

Gross Domestic Product (QoQ)

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on a quarterly basis, is a measure of the total value of all goods and services produced in Australia during a given period. The GDP is considered as the main measure of Australian economic activity. The QoQ reading compares economic activity in the reference quarter to the previous quarter. Generally, a rise in this indicator is bullish for the Australian Dollar (AUD), while a low reading is seen as bearish.

Why it matters to traders?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) releases the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on a quarterly basis. It is published about 65 days after the quarter ends. The indicator is closely watched, as it paints an important picture for the economy. A strong labor market, rising wages and rising private capital expenditure data are critical for the country’s improved economic performance, which in turn impacts the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) monetary policy decision and the Australian dollar. Actual figures beating estimates is considered AUD bullish, as it could prompt the RBA to tighten its monetary policy.

Author

Sagar Dua

FXStreet

Sagar Dua is associated with the financial markets from his college days. Along with pursuing post-graduation in Commerce in 2014, he started his markets training with chart analysis.

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