Market Watch APAC – 5th April 2024
A surprise slowdown in US Services growth, which would support the notion of lowering interest rates, has pressured the US-dollar lower. Some respite though for the dollar came with US Fed officials remarks to inflation and the need to cut rates may be pushed further out if the numbers continue to stall. The AUDUSD has added to its weekly gains and surpassed the 0.6615 resistance before retreating back below 0.66-cents. Markets will be tuned to the US March payroll report tonight, that may offer further weakness to the US-dollar and add gains to the trading majors, including the Aussie. Australian Trade Balance figures for February will entertain local traders in the Asia session. The levels to watch will be resistance at 0.6630/35 and support from buyers interest on dips to 0.6550/60 zone.
Wall Street stock indices ended the day lower, as the US Fed officials offered a cautious view on whether the central bank will be able to cut rates as soon as investors expect. The DJI was lower -1.4%, S&P500 lost -1.2% and the Nasdaq finished lower by -1.4%. Australian shares are expected to follow suit and open lower today, after Fed officials commentary that still caution the dot plot for rate cuts later this year. US jobs report will be a key for the equity bourses tonight.
Gold prices had an early session rally but pared gains as investors await further clues as to the timing of US rate cuts this year. Bullion prices were steady at the end of the day, closing around $2,300.
Copper prices traded up 1% on the LME, with noted interest from fund buying as the US-dollar retreated. The Dalian exchange will be closed for the day due to the Tomb Sweeping holiday in China.
Brent Crude prices finished the day higher once again, as traders considered supply disruptions from a worsening geopolitical landscape.
| AUDUSD
Open today 0.6588 Yesterday’s Range 0.6561 / 0.6619 |
NZDUSD
Open today 0.6025 Yesterday’s Range 0.6005 / 0.6047 |
AUDNZD
Yesterday’s Range 1.0913 / 1.0956 |
| AUDEUR
Yesterday’s Range 0.6056 / 0.6073 |
AUDCNH
Yesterday’s Range 4.7572 / 4.7953 |
AUDGBP
Yesterday’s Range 0.5186 / 0.5225 |
We hope you have found our expertly curated MarketWatch analysis useful in navigating the ever-changing FX landscape. To enhance our services and make sure you receive the most relevant and timely insights we have recently made some exciting updates to our newsletter.
To continue receiving our curated MarketWatch insights, we kindly request you resubscribe to our mailing list here: https://bit.ly/46YKOdo
