Aussie dollar trades above US$0.69
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Daily Currency Update
The Australian dollar is stronger this morning when valued against the Greenback, currently trading at 0.6893 at time of writing. The AUD/USD pair bounced back strongly from Wednesday’s low of 0.6820 to near the round-level resistance of 0.6900 in Thursday’s North American session. The Aussie dollar is well supported this week after the Reserve Bank held the cash rate at 4.35 per cent following its board meeting on Tuesday, flagging that inflation is “still too high”. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to leave interest rates at their current levels for the entire year. On Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that Australia’s inflation rate is within the RBA’s target range for the month of August, easing from 3.5% in July to 2.7%. Australia’s hawkish approach appears at odds with the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Fed last Wednesday had moved to cut rates by 50 basis points, despite the latest inflation reading in August at around 2.5%, above the U.S. central bank’s target of 2%.Key Movers
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the USD against a basket of six currencies, is flat after a muted market reaction to a slew of robust US economic data. The DXY is trading at 100.88 at the time of writing. On the data front, U.S. economic growth accelerated in the second quarter amid strength in consumer spending, the government confirmed on Thursday. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an unrevised 3.0% annualised rate last quarter, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its third estimate of second-quarter GDP on Thursday. This aligns with economists expectations, as polled by Reuters. Growth in the first quarter was revised up to a 1.6% rate from 1.4%. Meanwhile, initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ended Sept. 21, the lowest level since mid-May, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims. Unadjusted claims dropped by 5,957 to 180,878 last week. New orders for US manufactured durable goods rose by a marginal $0.1 billion to $289.7 billion, marking the sixth increase in seven months.Expected Ranges
- AUD/USD: 0.6800 - 0.7000 ▲
- AUD/EUR: 0.6050 - 0.6250 ▲
- GBP/AUD: 1.9300 - 1.9500 ▼
- AUD/NZD: 1.0800 - 1.1000 ▲
- AUD/CAD: 0.9150 - 0.9350 ▲