Australian Dollar: Hawkish RBA fails to impress markets – ING

FXStreet Insights Team FXStreet

ING’s Francesco Pesole notes that the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered a hawkish hold, stressing that inflation remains too high and further rate hikes are possible. However, markets focused instead on softer Australian growth, pushing short‑term swap rates and the Australian Dollar lower, underlining the higher bar now required for hawkish central bank communication to support currencies.

RBA message overshadowed by growth concerns

"Australia is an example of the higher bar for hawkish communication set by markets: the RBA governor tried to deliver a hawkish hold this morning, explicitly saying inflation is still too high and rate hikes remain a possibility."

"But markets seem more focused on the softer growth story and short-term swap rates have come under pressure along with AUD."

(This article was created with the help of an Artificial Intelligence tool and reviewed by an editor.)

Author

FXStreet Insights Team

FXStreet

The FXStreet Insights Team is a group of journalists that handpicks selected market observations published by renowned experts. The content includes notes by commercial as well as additional insights by internal and external analysts.

USD/JPY steadies below 160.50 as BoJ's Uchida speaks on outlook

USD/JPY holds its bounce below 160.50 in Europe trading on Tuesday, following the release of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision. The BoJ hiked the key rate by 25 bps to 1% as widely, providing little to no impetus to the Japanese Yen. BoJ Deputy Governor Uchida's press conference is doing little to lift the Japanese Yen.

AUD/USD keeps losses near 0.7050 after RBA's expected pause

AUD/ISD is holding moderate losses near 0.7050 in the European session on Tuesday. Traders are assessing the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) expected interest rate hike pause decision and the Governor Bullock's remarks, with the Australian Dollar holding lower ground.

Gold holds gains above $4,300 amid cautious markets

Gold maintains a mildly positive tone, holding gains after rallying about 6.5% over the last few days. The precious metal's recovery, however, has lost steam after crossing the $4,300 line and remains practically flat as the initial enthusiasm about the US-Iran peace deal faded, with investors awaiting details of the agreement and monetary policy decisions by major central banks.

Solana's rebound gains momentum as ETF inflows return

Solana (SOL) steadies at $73 after posting three consecutive green candlesticks since the weekend. The recent recovery is supported by institutional demand, with spot Exchange Traded Funds recording net inflows of $2.81 million on Monday.

Kevin Warsh opens first Fed meeting June 16 with rate hold expected

Kevin Warsh was confirmed by the Senate in a 54-45 vote and sworn in as Federal Reserve Chair on 22 May 2026. The ceremony took place at the White House, with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administering the oath. The FOMC meeting on 16 and 17 June is his first as chair. The June meeting is also a quarterly projection meeting.

4.2% headline, 0.2% core: Why the Fed's next hike may be targeting the wrong problem

May's CPI put headline inflation at 4.2% on the year, up from 3.8% in April and the hottest reading since April 2023, while core prices rose just 0.2% on the month, undershooting the 0.3% consensus and halving April's pace.