Australian Dollar fills weekly bearish gap against retreating USD; AUD/USD retakes 0.7100
- AUD/USD attracts dpi-buyers after testing a short-term trading range support near 0.7030.
- Stagflation fears trigger a modest USD pullback and offer some support to the currency pair.
- A hawkish RBA further benefit the Aussie, though geopolitical tensions might cap spot prices.
The AUD/USD pair rebounds following the weekly bearish gap opening to the 0.7030 area, or the lower end of a three-week-old range, and climbs back above the 0.7100 mark during the Asian session.
Despite the global flight to safety, the safe-haven US Dollar (USD) struggles to capitalize on its intraday move up to the highest level since January 23 amid stagflation fears. The US Producer Price Index (PPI), released on Friday, revived concerns about still sticky inflation. Furthermore, slowing economic growth creates a scenario where the Federal Reserve (Fed) cannot cut interest rates without reigniting inflation or hold without slowing the economy further. This, in turn, keeps a lid on the USD and acts as a tailwind for the AUD/USD pair amid the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) hawkish stance.
In fact, traders are now pricing in the possibility of another interest rate hike by the RBA in May. The bets were reaffirmed by the hot CPI report for January, released last week, which is seen underpinning the Australian Dollar (AUD) and lending additional support to the AUD/USD pair. Meanwhile, a coordinated US-Israel strike on Iran marks a dramatic escalation of geopolitical tensions and continues to weigh on investors' sentiment. This, in turn, might hold back traders from placing aggressive bullish bets around the risk-sensitive Aussie and cap any further appreciation for the currency pair.
Traders now look forward to the release of the US ISM Manufacturing PMI for some impetus later during the North American session ahead of RBA Governor Michele Bullock's speech on Tuesday. This week's economic docket also features the release of the quarterly Australian GDP print, along with the US ADP report on private-sector employment and ISM Services PMI, on Wednesday. Furthermore, the closely-watched US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report could influence the AUD/USD pair during the latter part of the week, though the focus will remain on geopolitical developments.
The AUD/USD pair rebounds following the weekly bearish gap opening to the 0.7030 area, or the lower end of a three-week-old range, and climbs back above the 0.7100 mark during the Asian session.
Despite the global flight to safety, the safe-haven US Dollar (USD) struggles to capitalize on its intraday move up to the highest level since January 23 amid stagflation fears. The US Producer Price Index (PPI), released on Friday, revived concerns about still sticky inflation. Furthermore, slowing economic growth creates a scenario where the Federal Reserve (Fed) cannot cut interest rates without reigniting inflation or hold without slowing the economy further. This, in turn, keeps a lid on the USD and acts as a tailwind for the AUD/USD pair amid the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) hawkish stance.
In fact, traders are now pricing in the possibility of another interest rate hike by the RBA in May. The bets were reaffirmed by the hot CPI report for January, released last week, which is seen underpinning the Australian Dollar (AUD) and lending additional support to the AUD/USD pair. Meanwhile, a coordinated US-Israel strike on Iran marks a dramatic escalation of geopolitical tensions and continues to weigh on investors' sentiment. This, in turn, might hold back traders from placing aggressive bullish bets around the risk-sensitive Aussie and cap any further appreciation for the currency pair.
Traders now look forward to the release of the US ISM Manufacturing PMI for some impetus later during the North American session ahead of RBA Governor Michele Bullock's speech on Tuesday. This week's economic docket also features the release of the quarterly Australian GDP print, along with the US ADP report on private-sector employment and ISM Services PMI, on Wednesday. Furthermore, the closely-watched US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report could influence the AUD/USD pair during the latter part of the week, though the focus will remain on geopolitical developments.
Australian Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Australian Dollar (AUD) against listed major currencies today. Australian Dollar was the strongest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.25% | 0.26% | 0.17% | 0.07% | 0.22% | 0.31% | -0.04% | |
| EUR | -0.25% | 0.00% | -0.07% | -0.18% | -0.03% | 0.06% | -0.29% | |
| GBP | -0.26% | -0.00% | -0.08% | -0.19% | -0.03% | 0.06% | -0.29% | |
| JPY | -0.17% | 0.07% | 0.08% | -0.08% | 0.07% | 0.16% | -0.19% | |
| CAD | -0.07% | 0.18% | 0.19% | 0.08% | 0.16% | 0.23% | -0.11% | |
| AUD | -0.22% | 0.03% | 0.03% | -0.07% | -0.16% | 0.10% | -0.26% | |
| NZD | -0.31% | -0.06% | -0.06% | -0.16% | -0.23% | -0.10% | -0.35% | |
| CHF | 0.04% | 0.29% | 0.29% | 0.19% | 0.11% | 0.26% | 0.35% |
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 Australian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent AUD (base)/USD (quote).
Author
Haresh Menghani
FXStreet
Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.
