- Australian Dollar (AUD) rises after Chinese factories post biggest jump in profits in over a year
- US – China tensions cap gains for the risk sensitive Aussie Dollar
- US durable goods beat forecasts at 7.3% vs 7.2% expected after US labour market data showed the recovery stalling
The Australian Dollar US Dollar (AUD/USD) exchange rate is extending gains at the start of the new week. The pair rallied 1.5% across last week, settling on Friday at US$0.7104. At 14:20 UTC, AUD/USD trades +0.5% at US$0.7139, just shy of the high of the day.
The Australian Dollar is rising boosted by encouraging data from China overnight. According to the Chinese statistics bureau profits at industrial firms in China soared 11.5% in June. This was the second straight month of gains and the largest jump in profits for over a year adding to evidence that China’s economic recovery is gathering momentum.
The upbeat data comes following record slump in profits across the first 5 months of the year as the coronavirus crisis hit.
The Australian Dollar is considered a proxy for China, meaning it is sensitive to Chinese data.
The Aussie managed to shrug off intensifying US – China tensions after China confirmed that it closed the US consulate in Chengdu over the weekend. The move came following the US closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston last week on spying accusations.
There is no high impacting Australian data due until Wednesday, leaving the Aussie Dollar vulnerable to sentiment and movements in the US Dollar.
The US Dollar has plunged across the European session and the start of the US session on Monday amid rising geopolitical tensions and concerns over the economic recovery in the US.
With coronavirus cases above 4.1 million in America, parts of the worst affected southern states are re-imposing lockdown measures. On Friday data showed that the US labour market recovery was stalling.
Data today has been more upbeat with US durable goods jumping by a better than forecast 7.3%. With mixed messages coming from the data investors will look towards US Federal Reserve policy meeting for further clues on the outlook.
