Australian Dollar tumbles as Hormuz strikes spark US Dollar flight
- US-Iran strikes lift the US Dollar as traders dump risk currencies.
- ADP, JOLTS and ISM Services data reinforce US resilience.
- Australia's GDP miss deepens concerns over household demand.
The Australian Dollar (AUD) drops some 0.70% on Wednesday against the US Dollar (USD) as risk appetite shifted sour as hostilities in the Middle East resumed amid the lack of progress in US-Iran talks to reach a deal
AUD/USD slides as haven demand and weak GDP bite
The AUD/USD pair trades at 0.7128, after peaking at around 0.7181 as investors seeking safety bought the US Dollar after the US and Iran exchanged strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, with the latter also attacking US assets in Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The US Central Command reported that they attacked missile launch sites and Iranian boats poised to lay mines. They also attacked Qeshm Island in response to Iranian attacks.
US jobs data reflect the strength of the labor market. Private companies hiring in May exceeded forecasts, with the ADP National Employment Change Report showing an increase of 122K, beating the forecast of 117K. Tuesday’s JOLTS report also showed increased job openings, indicating resilience ahead of Friday’s Nonfarm Payrolls.
The US ISM Services PMI rose from 53.6 to 54.5 as businesses ordered, anticipating higher prices. The Prices Paid component increased from 70.7 to 71.3, indicating the energy shock spreading to services.
Fed officials crossed the wires. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said that policy is “a bit loose” and needs to be restrictive, as inflation is taking too long to return to 2%. Earlier, New York Fed President John Williams stated that monetary policy “is exactly in the right place,” and he added that he doesn’t “see any need to raise or lower interest rates right now.”
Data from Australia showed that the economy lost some momentum in Q1 2026, as GDP expanded 0.3% QoQ, down from the 0.9% jump in the previous quarter, and below estimates for a 0.5% expansion. The slowdown could worsen as the Middle East conflict and policy tightening by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) weigh on households' spending,
Ahead, traders' eyes will be on the Australia Trade Balance for April and on RBA Governor Michele Bullock's speech.
AUD/USD Price Forecast: Technical outlook
In the daily chart, AUD/USD trades at 0.7130. The pair sits just above the latest simple moving average cluster around 0.7117, while an active upward support trend line also runs slightly below price near 0.7111, suggesting nearby dip-buying interest. However, another rising support line now projects just above spot around 0.7158, acting as immediate resistance and effectively compressing price into a narrow consolidation band. The Relative Strength Index (14) has slipped toward the mid‑40s, hinting at fading bullish momentum and keeping the near-term bias broadly neutral as the pair oscillates around this support–resistance pocket.
On the downside, initial support is seen at the 50/100/200-day simple moving average area around 0.7117, reinforced by the underlying rising trend line near 0.7111. A break below there would expose deeper trend-line supports clustered around 0.7087 and 0.7086. On the topside, immediate resistance comes at the upward trend projection around 0.7158; a daily close above this cap would ease the current rangebound tone and open the door to a more constructive advance.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)
(This story was corrected on June 3 at 21:54 GMT to say that the Australian economy lost some momentum in Q1 2026, not 2025, and that the GDP in the last quarter of 2025 expanded by 0.9% instead of 0.8%. It also corrects an error in the name of the RBA Governor, who is Michele Bullock.)
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 | 0.28% | 0.34% | 0.06% | 0.42% | 0.71% | 1.12% | 0.60% | |
| EUR | -0.28% | 0.06% | -0.20% | 0.13% | 0.43% | 0.83% | 0.33% | |
| GBP | -0.34% | -0.06% | -0.26% | 0.06% | 0.36% | 0.75% | 0.22% | |
| JPY | -0.06% | 0.20% | 0.26% | 0.31% | 0.63% | 0.99% | 0.49% | |
| CAD | -0.42% | -0.13% | -0.06% | -0.31% | 0.33% | 0.71% | 0.16% | |
| AUD | -0.71% | -0.43% | -0.36% | -0.63% | -0.33% | 0.39% | -0.22% | |
| NZD | -1.12% | -0.83% | -0.75% | -0.99% | -0.71% | -0.39% | -0.52% | |
| CHF | -0.60% | -0.33% | -0.22% | -0.49% | -0.16% | 0.22% | 0.52% |
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
Christian Borjon Valencia
FXStreet
Markets analyst, news editor, and trading instructor with over 14 years of experience across FX, commodities, US equity indices, and global macro markets.
