- Australian Dollar gains ground on the weaker US Dollar on Monday.
- Australia’s ASX 200 index rises on higher mining stocks.
- US Dollar loses ground after dovish comments from the former Fed official James Bullard.
- Upbeat US PPI data increased the market bias of no rate cut by the Fed in March.
The Australian Dollar (AUD) starts the week by continuing its four-day winning streak on Monday. The US Dollar (USD) gained support from Friday’s release of better-than-anticipated Producer Price Index (PPI) data from the United States. However, gains were tempered by dovish remarks from former St. Louis Federal Reserve (Fed) president, James Bullard, thereby boosting the AUD/USD pair.
Australian Dollar also gains upward support as the S&P/ASX 200 index reaches an all-time high, driven by increased mining stocks amid stronger metals prices. Furthermore, market sentiment strengthens with the belief that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will maintain its current monetary policy stance throughout 2024, fueled by Westpac’s expectation of a resilient Australian economy supported by low unemployment and healthy corporate sector balance sheets. Westpac anticipates the RBA to adopt a less restrictive approach in 2025.
The US Dollar Index (DXY) extended its decline as US Treasury yields pared back their daily advances on Friday. With United States banks closed for the Presidents’ Day bank holiday, markets anticipate limited movement in the US Dollar.
Daily Digest Market Movers: Australian Dollar appreciates on weaker US Dollar
- Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock addressed the Australian parliament’s Senate Economics Legislation Committee, noting that the global economy has fared better than initially anticipated. She expressed previous concerns about potential hard landings and recessions but indicated that the economy is currently in a favorable position to bring inflation down within a reasonable timeframe.
- Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Li Qiang, emphasized the importance of maintaining consistent and stable policies. The PBoC opted to keep its Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) rate unchanged at 2.5%.
- At the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) conference, Ex-Fed James Bullard suggested that the Federal Reserve should consider lowering interest rates at its March meeting to avoid dampening economic activity due to higher rates.
- The preliminary Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index improved to 79.6 from 79.0 prior, lower than the expected reading of 80.0.
- The US Core Producer Price Index (YoY) improved by 2% in January, surpassing the expected 1.6% and 1.7% prior. While, the MoM data showed a rise of 0.5%, against the expected 0.1% improvement from the previous decline of 0.1%.
- US Producer Price Index came in at 0.9% year-over-year compared to the anticipated 0.6% and previous growth of 1.0%. Meanwhile, monthly improvement was 0.3% against the previous decline of 0.1%.
- US Building Permits (MoM) contracted to 1.470 million in January, against the expected rise to 1.509 million from the previous 1.493 million.
Technical Analysis: Australian Dollar maintains position near support level of 0.6550
The Australian Dollar traded near 0.6560 on Monday,