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Aussie dollar trades back above US$0.64
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Daily Currency Update
The Australian dollar is stronger this morning when valued against the Greenback, currently trading at 0.6446 at time of writing. The Aussie dollar yesterday fared better than most of its rival counterparts against the Greenback partly because commodities, which Australia is a major exporter of, are holding their value better than expected. The supportive effect may not last, however, since Iron Ore, which is Australia’s largest export, could be peaking and about to roll over. The Australian dollar may encounter challenges ahead, particularly as domestic inflation continues to moderate, aligning with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) latest forecasts. Furthermore, the persistently tight labour market could lead to calls for an RBA rate reduction before the year’s end. On the data front, today we will see the release of the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). On Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is expected to increase from 0.6% to 0.8% for the last quarter. Consumer prices account for a majority of overall inflation. Inflation is important to currency valuation because rising prices lead the central bank to raise interest rates out of respect for their inflation containment mandate. Finally on Friday we will see the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI).Key Movers
US equities on Monday opened higher in the early going, but there have been frequent bouts of strength in the latest six-day losing streak that have ultimately been overwhelmed by sellers. In early trading, the index is up 20 points, or 0.45%, which is a tad softer than futures indicated. 10-year US Treasury yields jump to 4.64% as Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers argue that the current restrictive monetary policy framework is appropriate given strong labor demand and stubbornly higher price pressures. On the data front, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) rose to +0.15 in March from +0.09 in February. Two of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index increased from February and two categories made positive contributions in March. The Chicago Fed’s National Activity Index is a monthly indicator designed to gauge overall economic activity and related inflationary pressure. The personal consumption and housing category’s contribution to CFNAI was -0.01 in March, down from +0.02 in February, the Chicago Fed said on Monday. Looking ahead for the rest of the week and Federal Reserve officials will begin its blackout period ahead of the May 1 meeting. However, April PMIs and housing data will be released by S&P Global.Expected Ranges
- AUD/USD: 0.6350 – 0.6550 ▲
- AUD/EUR: 0.5950 – 0.6150 ▲
- GBP/AUD: 1.9050 – 1.9250 ▼
- AUD/NZD: 1.0800 – 1.1000 ▲
- AUD/CAD: 0.8750 – 0.8950 ▼
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