The AUD has been fairly flat this week despite a raft of better-than-expected economic data.
Westpac’s Consumer Confidence figures, as published earlier in the week, rose to the highest level in 11 years, but failed to inject much confidence into the Aussie. The big swing was instigated by the Fed’s comments on Thursday, with Chair Powell indicating that the US economy was picking up much quicker than anticipated.
The news around the USD has stimulated the market’s appetite for risk, which in turn has supported the AUD, pushing it to the highest level in weeks against a basket of currencies.
AUD to NZD
The AUD has been slowly falling against the Kiwi since it peaked at the end of March following the New Zealand government’s snap policy change in an attempt to curb house price inflation.
Despite good data from Australia this week and the RBNZ leaving their cash rate as is, the AUD has struggled to find its feet. It is thought that investors might be cautious of the AUD due to the slower-than-hoped uptake of the Covid vaccine in Australia. A knock-on effect of this could be that borders remain closed for longer, and in turn the economic recovery unable to sustain its pace.
AUD to USD
At the beginning of the week, the AUD was trading at the lowest level in a fortnight against the USD and it was looking likely that we would see fresh multi-month lows despite better-than-expected data from Australia.
The Fed reporting on the US economic recovery boosted risk appetite, meaning traders then sold the USD in favour of the commodity-driven Aussie, leaving us at the highest level since 23rd March. Today sees the release of Chinese GDP figures and a good result here could push the AUD up further against the safe-haven USD.
AUD to GBP
Although the UK began unwinding its lockdown restrictions on Monday, a quiet week for economic data saw the Pound fall almost 2% against the risk-sensitive AUD, which created an opportunity for UK expats sending money home.
The AUD is sitting at its highest point against the GBP in almost two months but there are concerns that this advantage could fade due to Australia lagging behind in its vaccination process. The next week will be crucial for the GBP: inflation reports midweek and retail sales figures to finish will be closely scrutinised by the market, which is expecting strong results.
*Market update provided by our Travel Money Transfers partner SendFX Pty Ltd ACN 617 647 220 (‘Send’). Send holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (No. 509635) . The information on this website has been provided for general information purposes only and must not in any way be construed or relied upon as personal advice.
