AUD/USD revisits almost 10-month high around 0.6620 as US Dollar underperforms
- AUD/USD jumps to near 0.6620 as the US Dollar underperforms its peers.
- Investors expect the Fed to cut interest rates in the policy meeting next week.
- The next trigger for the US Dollar will be the release of the US NFP benchmark revision report.
The AUD/USD pair reclaims the 10-month around 0.6620 during the European trading session on Tuesday. The Aussie pair strengthens as the US Dollar (USD) underperforms its peers amid firm expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in the policy meeting next week.
At the time of writing, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, posts a fresh six-week low near 97.25.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.09% | -0.21% | -0.70% | 0.05% | -0.40% | -0.26% | 0.05% | |
| EUR | -0.09% | -0.32% | -0.79% | -0.04% | -0.42% | -0.33% | -0.04% | |
| GBP | 0.21% | 0.32% | -0.52% | 0.27% | -0.10% | -0.02% | 0.27% | |
| JPY | 0.70% | 0.79% | 0.52% | 0.74% | 0.34% | 0.44% | 0.74% | |
| CAD | -0.05% | 0.04% | -0.27% | -0.74% | -0.42% | -0.28% | -0.00% | |
| AUD | 0.40% | 0.42% | 0.10% | -0.34% | 0.42% | 0.09% | 0.38% | |
| NZD | 0.26% | 0.33% | 0.02% | -0.44% | 0.28% | -0.09% | 0.31% | |
| CHF | -0.05% | 0.04% | -0.27% | -0.74% | 0.00% | -0.38% | -0.31% |
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 US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
According to the CME FedWatch tool, there is an 11.6% chance that the Fed will cut interest rates by 50 basis points (bps) to 3.75%-4.00%, while the rest point a standard 25-bps interest rate reduction.
Fed dovish bets have intensified amid deteriorating United States (US) labor market conditions in the wake of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report for August showed on Friday that the economy added 22K fresh workers, significantly lower than expectations of 75K, and the prior reading of 79K.
For fresh cues on the broader status of the labor market, investors await the release of the NFP benchmark revision report, which will be published at 14:00 GMT.
Investors will pay close attention to the US NFP benchmark revision report as it will show deviation in cumulative monthly figures for the year ending March 2025.
Meanwhile, the Australian Dollar (AUD) outperforms its peers as the market sentiment remains favorable for riskier assets. Going forward, investors will focus on China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for August, which will be released on Wednesday.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
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