Aussie dollar trades around US$0.65
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Daily Currency Update
The Australian dollar is slightly weaker this morning when valued against the Greenback currently trading at 0.6564 at the time of writing. On Friday we saw a reversal from Thursday’s highs as the Aussie dollar was contained above the 0.6555 support area, despite the strong US dollar reaction to the upbeat US employment data. This keeps bulls hopeful of a deeper recovery, with their focus on the resistance area above 0.6600. On the local front on Friday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest monthly Trade Balance figures. Australia’s trade balance fell more than expected to a five-month low in February, as exports particularly those of Australia's key iron ore products- fell substantially during the month. Australia’s trade balance shrank to a surplus of A$7.28 billion ($4.79 billion), data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday. The figure was weaker than expectations of A$10.5 billion and shrank substantially from the A$11.03 billion seen in January. The country’s trade balance hit its weakest level since September. The drop was spurred chiefly by a 2.2% drop in exports from the prior month, as the exports of metal ores and minerals- which are by far Australia’s biggest product- slid 8.1% month-on-month. Specifically, iron ore exports slid between 11% and 16%, hit by softer demand for the steelmaking material in China. Looking ahead this week and on Tuesday we will see the release of both the Westpac Consumer Sentiment and NAB Business Confidence.Key Movers
U.S. employers hired far more workers than expected in March while raising wages, suggesting the economy ended the first quarter on solid ground and potentially delaying anticipated interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 303,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its closely watched employment report on Friday. Data for February was revised slightly lower to show 270,000 jobs added instead of 275,000 as previously reported. On the downside, government jobs rose a whopping 71K and the prior was revised to +63K from +52K. The leisure and hospitality sector was another big driver, which isn't exactly high-paying jobs. After the data, the Greenback strengthens as the US dollar Index (DXY) rises 0.155%, up at 04.36. US Treasury bond yields are climbing between 4.5 and 5 basis points. The US 10-year Treasury note rate is at 4.365%. S&P 500 e-mini futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street BONDS: The U.S. Treasury 10-year yield rose 8.9 basis points to 4.398%; Two-year yields rose 7.2 basis points to 4.7127% FOREX: The dollar index rose 0.4% to 104.65. Across the pond, Factory Orders in Germany improved in February, to 0.2%, improving from January’s -1.4% plunge. Moreover, Retail Sales from the Eurozone (EU) dived -0.5% MoM, worse than the estimated -0.4% contraction.Expected Ranges
- AUD/USD: 0.6450 - 0.6650 ▼
- AUD/EUR: 0.5950 - 0.6150 ▼
- GBP/AUD: 1.9050 - 1.9250 ▼
- AUD/NZD: 1.0800 - 1.1000 ▲
- AUD/CAD: 0.8800 - 0.9000 ▲