Welcome to our daily market update where we help keep you informed on the latest happenings in the world of FX and show you what this means for the Mighty Aussie Dollar.
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Key Data Being Released Today
| Japan – | Adjusted Trade Balance | ||||
| Exports (YoY) (Jul) | |||||
| Imports (YoY) (Jul) | |||||
| Trade Balance (Jul) | |||||
| Australia – | Wage Price Index (QoQ) (Q2) | ||||
| New Zealand – | RBNZ Interest Rate Decision | ||||
| Eurozone – | GDP (YoY) (Q2) | ||||
| United States – | Core Retail Sales (MoM) (Jul) | ||||
| Retail Sales (MoM) (Jul) | |||||
Macro Report
The Australian dollar remains under pressure following disappointing economic data from China. Since the Aussie dollar is often seen as a ‘China proxy’, China’s central bank’s decision to cut its key lending rates prompted the AUD/USD currency pair to pull back from last week’s high. Moreover, China’s lower-than-expected retail sales data and industrial production performance further dampened the Aussie dollar and reignited recession fears.
Against this backdrop, Key Australian commodities, including gold, copper and iron ore, declined as concerns regarding the economic health of China, Australia’s largest trading partner, gained momentum.
Following the Aussie dollar’s tumble on China’s downbeat economic data, the release of the RBA monetary policy meeting minutes further weighed on the commodity-linked currency. Minutes mentioned that “the Board expects to take further steps in the process of normalizing monetary conditions over the months ahead, but it is not on a pre-set path.” With no market surprises and statements leaning towards the dovish side of expectations, suggesting a potential move away from 50 basis point hikes, the AUD/USD pair extended its Monday losses and dropped below 70 cents to a low of 0.6991. The pair has since rebounded, now hovering around the 70-cent level.
AUD/USD Daily Chart
DXY (USD INDEX) Daily Chart
Major Global Markets
| Currencies | Level | Change (%) |
| AUD/USD | 0.7022 | -0.01 |
| AUD/JPY | 94.2690 | 0.02 |
| AUD/CNH | 4.7648 | 0.02 |
| DXY | 106.5000 | -0.04 |
| Rates | Yield (%) | Change |
| US 10 Year | 2.80 | -0.038 |
| Aus 10 year | 3.27 | -0.141 |
| Equities | Level | Change (%) |
| S&P 500 | 4,305.20 | 0.19 |
| NASDAQ | 13,102.55 | -0.19 |
| ASX 200 | 7,105.39 | 0.58 |
| Commodities | Level | Change (%) |
| Iron Ore | 107.60 | -2.28 |
| Gold (Comex) | 1,790.40 | 0.04 |
| Brent Crude oil | 92.34 | -2.90 |