AUD/USD battles 0.7500 on mixed Australian Trade data, risk-aversion
- AUD/USD holds the lower ground, near0.7500 amid broad risk-aversion.
- Stronger yields on hawkish Fed minutes weigh on the sentiment.
- Australian Trade data comes in mixed, focus shifts to US data, Fedspeak.
AUD/USD remains pressured around 0.7500, having challenged the post-FOMC minutes lows at 0.7487, as the mixed Australian Trade data fail to impress bulls.
Read: Aussie Trade Balance, imports far higher than expected
The aussie remains undermined by the broad risk-aversion, as investors weigh in the hawkish Fed March meeting’s minutes. The Fed minutes signaled plans for the balance sheet reduction by more than $1 trillion a year while raising the rates alongside.
Tech and real estate stocks on Wall Street tumbled on the hawkish Fed minutes-led surge in the US Treasury yields. The Asian equities are tracking the US stocks lower, adding to the weight on the risk-sensitive aussie.
Meanwhile, the escalating tensions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine are also keeping investors away from higher-yielding assets such as the aussie, as they seek safety in the US dollar.
The antipodean is moving further away from the multi-month highs of 0.7663, reached earlier this week on a hawkish surprise from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The RBA dropped the ‘patient’ pledge on inflation development, hinting at a likely rate hike as early as this quarter. Analysts at Westpac now see the RBA rate hike in June.
Looking ahead, the US Jobless Claims will offer some cues on the dollar trades while a slew of Fed speeches will hog the limelight.
AUD/USD: Technical levels to consider