AUD steady on further tariffs

Daily Currency Update

For most of yesterday’s trading session, the AUD traded within a tight range despite US President, Donald Trump mentioning that he may add a 10% tariff on China as soon as February 1. Coupled with soft numbers in the AU Leading Index, the day closed with less volatility than the previous few days. A slight uptick in iron ore, coking coal and gold didn’t ignite much optimism either, despite the bullion coming closer to all-time highs.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology gave further insight into which industries would be specifically targeted for growth and the list included: steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemicals, chemicals, building materials, machinery, automobiles, power equipment, light industry and electronics. It seems that higher specialisation in these fields would help to combat against future tariff threats.

The AUD reached a high of 0.6297 in the European trading session and slid slightly to open this morning around the 0.6273 mark.