AUD/USD extends correction to near 0.6480 amid uncertainty over US-China trade relations
- AUD/USD retraces to near 0.6480 from an over six-month high of 0.6545 as investors lack details of the US-China trade deal.
- US President Trump says China agrees to supply rare earths and magnets.
- The US prepares to send letters to its trading partners stating tariff rates and the trade deal.
The AUD/USD pair slides to near 0.6480 during European trading hours on Thursday, following the corrective move from an over six-month high of 0.6545 posted the previous day. The Aussie pair weakens as the Australian Dollar (AUD) underperforms across the board, while investors doubt whether the trade truce between the United States (US) and China will last long.
Australian Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Australian Dollar (AUD) against listed major currencies today. Australian Dollar was the weakest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.51% | -0.14% | -0.53% | -0.10% | 0.02% | -0.09% | -0.72% | |
| EUR | 0.51% | 0.37% | -0.03% | 0.41% | 0.51% | 0.43% | -0.19% | |
| GBP | 0.14% | -0.37% | -0.43% | 0.04% | 0.13% | 0.04% | -0.58% | |
| JPY | 0.53% | 0.03% | 0.43% | 0.43% | 0.53% | 0.40% | -0.18% | |
| CAD | 0.10% | -0.41% | -0.04% | -0.43% | 0.12% | -0.01% | -0.62% | |
| AUD | -0.02% | -0.51% | -0.13% | -0.53% | -0.12% | -0.09% | -0.70% | |
| NZD | 0.09% | -0.43% | -0.04% | -0.40% | 0.00% | 0.09% | -0.62% | |
| CHF | 0.72% | 0.19% | 0.58% | 0.18% | 0.62% | 0.70% | 0.62% |
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).
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump stated in a post on Truth.Social that China has agreed to supply rare earths and magnets, but didn’t provide concrete details on what Beijing will get in return.
Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!)," Trump wrote. He further added, "We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent!
“While President Trump indicated favorable news that tariffs on Chinese imports would rise from 30% to 55% and Chinese rare-earth exports may resume, there is little news on what China gets in return. I doubt this is a one-way deal and hence the market caution seen overnight," analysts at Etera Investment Management said.
The uncertainty among market participants over the US-China trade deal weighs on the Australian Dollar (AUD), given that the Australian economy relies heavily on its exports to Beijing.
Although investors have underpinned the US Dollar (USD) against the AUD, it underperforms against the majority of its peers amid uncertainty surrounding US tariff policy. On Wednesday, US President Trump stated that Washington is prepared to send a final trade agreement, including tariff rates, to those trading partners from whom Washington has not received any proposal or those who are not negotiating in good faith.
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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