- Australian Dollar (AUD) under pressure as tension with China rise
- Australian business confidence index rebounds in May, but still at recession levels
- US Dollar (USD) shrugged off mixed job opening data
- At 14:00 UTC, AUD/USD is trading -0.7% at $0.6958
After 7 straight days of gains, the Australian Dollar has turned lower on Tuesday dropping to a daily low of US$0.6898. At 14:00 UTC, AUD/USD is trading -0.7% at US$0.6958, after picking up off the low. However, the pair remains well short of the fresh 5-month high reached overnight of US$0.7040.
The risk sensitive Australian Dollar is trading on the back foot amid rising tensions with China. Tensions between the two trading partners have been simmering since Australia supported an independent investigation into the origins and spread of coronavirus in China. In response, China has warned its citizens could boycott Australian goods and services. In the latest ratcheting up of tensions, China warned students to reconsider going to Australia to study because of a growing number of racist incidents.
China is an important trade partner for Australia, worsening relations could have a severe effect on the Australian economy.
Mixed domestic data was unable to support the Aussie Dollar. The National Bank of Australia Business Confidence Index rebounded to -20 in May, a vast improvement from -45 in April. However, it is still at levels associated with a deep recession.
Looking ahead investors will focus on Westpac’s consumer confidence index and home loans data.
The US Dollar is in demand amid a broad risk off environment following rising geopolitical tensions. Investors shrugged off the mixed job openings report.
JOLTS job openings data showed that jobs openings plummeted in April to the lowest level since 2014. The number of positions available declined to 5.05 million, down from 6 million in March. Meanwhile layoff and quits slowed to 9.89 million in April from a record 14.64 in March.
Investors have broadly shrugged off the data. This is because the JOLTS data drags the US non-farm payrolls and the NFP’s showed that the labour market was rebounding.
Investors will now look ahead to the Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement tomorrow. The Fed will need to strike a balance between applauding the strong non-farm payroll and reminding the market of its accommodative stance.
