Australian Dollar advances as easing Iran tensions weigh on USD, RBA minutes awaited
- The Australian Dollar advances against the US Dollar as the Greenback pulls back on Monday.
- Hopes of a peace agreement between the United States and Iran improve market sentiment.
- Weak Chinese economic data continue to limit the upside potential for the Australian Dollar.
AUD/USD trades around 0.7160 on Monday at the time of writing, up 0.15% on the day, as the US Dollar (USD) corrects lower after its recent rebound. Improved market sentiment, driven by renewed hopes for diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran, is reducing demand for safe-haven assets and weighing on the Greenback.
The US Dollar weakens against several major peers after comments from a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that discussions regarding a peace proposal remain ongoing. This relative easing in geopolitical tensions supports risk-sensitive currencies, including the Australian Dollar (AUD).
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the Greenback against a basket of major currencies, trades lower after failing to hold onto earlier gains. Markets also remain focused on developments in the Middle East following recent drone attacks reported in the region, while comments from US President Donald Trump continue to keep investors cautious.
However, the Aussie’s rebound remains limited by the latest Chinese economic data, which renewed concerns over slowing momentum in the world’s second-largest economy. China’s Retail Sales increased by only 0.2% YoY in April, well below market expectations of 2%, while Industrial Production slowed to 4.1%, missing the 5.9% consensus forecast. These figures weaken the outlook for Chinese growth, a negative factor for the Australian Dollar due to Australia’s strong trade ties with China.
Investors are now turning their attention to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meeting minutes and Westpac Consumer Confidence in Australia, which are scheduled for release on Tuesday.
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 Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.24% | -0.77% | 0.06% | -0.05% | -0.13% | -0.48% | -0.22% | |
| EUR | 0.24% | -0.55% | 0.31% | 0.19% | 0.09% | -0.25% | 0.00% | |
| GBP | 0.77% | 0.55% | 0.87% | 0.73% | 0.64% | 0.29% | 0.56% | |
| JPY | -0.06% | -0.31% | -0.87% | -0.16% | -0.22% | -0.60% | -0.32% | |
| CAD | 0.05% | -0.19% | -0.73% | 0.16% | -0.08% | -0.44% | -0.17% | |
| AUD | 0.13% | -0.09% | -0.64% | 0.22% | 0.08% | -0.34% | -0.06% | |
| NZD | 0.48% | 0.25% | -0.29% | 0.60% | 0.44% | 0.34% | 0.27% | |
| CHF | 0.22% | -0.01% | -0.56% | 0.32% | 0.17% | 0.06% | -0.27% |
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).
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