AUD/USD jumps to near 0.6600 as Australian Dollar gains on cheerful market mood
- AUD/USD climbs to near 0.6600 amid risk-on market mood.
- The Fed is widely anticipated to cut interest rates next week.
- Investors await key US PPI data for August.
The AUD/USD pair advances to near 0.6600 during the European trading session on Wednesday. The Aussie pair strengthens as the market sentiment turns favorable for riskier assets amid firm expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will resume its monetary-easing campaign next week, which it paused earlier this year.
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 | 0.13% | 0.04% | 0.18% | 0.11% | -0.07% | -0.14% | 0.05% | |
| EUR | -0.13% | -0.09% | -0.03% | -0.03% | -0.24% | -0.26% | -0.08% | |
| GBP | -0.04% | 0.09% | 0.10% | 0.07% | -0.14% | -0.16% | 0.05% | |
| JPY | -0.18% | 0.03% | -0.10% | 0.03% | -0.28% | -0.29% | 0.19% | |
| CAD | -0.11% | 0.03% | -0.07% | -0.03% | -0.23% | -0.26% | -0.02% | |
| AUD | 0.07% | 0.24% | 0.14% | 0.28% | 0.23% | -0.02% | 0.20% | |
| NZD | 0.14% | 0.26% | 0.16% | 0.29% | 0.26% | 0.02% | 0.37% | |
| CHF | -0.05% | 0.08% | -0.05% | -0.19% | 0.02% | -0.20% | -0.37% |
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).
S&P 500 futures have posted significant gains during European trading hours, demonstrating an upbeat market mood.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders see an 8.4% 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.
At the time of writing, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades calmly near Tuesday’s high around 97.80. The Greenback trades stable, even as the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) benchmark revision report for 12 months ending showed that the US economy created 911K fewer jobs than had been anticipated earlier.
In Wednesday’s session, investors will focus on the US Producer Price Index (PPI) data for August, which will be published at 12:30 GMT.
The US headline PPI is expected to have grown steadily at an annualized pace of 3.3%. Meanwhile, the core PPI – which excludes volatile food and energy items – is estimated to have risen moderately by 3.5%, against 3.7% in July.
Fed FAQs
Monetary policy in the US is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, it raises interest rates, increasing borrowing costs throughout the economy. This results in a stronger US Dollar (USD) as it makes the US a more attractive place for international investors to park their money. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates to encourage borrowing, which weighs on the Greenback.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) holds eight policy meetings a year, where the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) assesses economic conditions and makes monetary policy decisions. The FOMC is attended by twelve Fed officials – the seven members of the Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and four of the remaining eleven regional Reserve Bank presidents, who serve one-year terms on a rotating basis.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve may resort to a policy named 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 during crises or when inflation is extremely low. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy high grade bonds from financial institutions. QE usually weakens the US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process of QE, whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing, to purchase new bonds. It is usually positive for the value of the US Dollar.
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