Australia, NZ dollars grapple with risk aversion as US growth fears weigh
SYDNEY, Aug 2 (Reuters) -The Australian dollar was pinned near three-month lows on Friday as weak U.S. data fuelled fears of a sharp slowdown in the world's largest economy, sending investors to the embrace of the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc.
The Aussie held at $0.6501 AUD=D3, having fallen 0.5% overnight to just above a three-month low of $0.6480 hit on Wednesday. More support lies around $0.6466, with resistance at $0.6580.
For the week, it is down 0.6%, the third consecutive week of decline, partly due to the unwinding of the popular carry trade where investors borrowed the low-yielding yen to invest in higher-yield currencies.
Against the yen AUDJPY=R, the Aussie hit a six-month low of 96.59 yen on Friday, which brought the weekly loss to a hefty 3.4%. It also scaled a six-month trough on the Swiss franc, fetching 0.5654 francs AUDCHF=R.
The New Zealand dollar had better luck NZD=D3 and was holding at $0.5943, having finished Thursday little changed.
For the week, the kiwi is up 1.0%, largely due to gains against the Aussie as markets swung to price out any chance of an interest rate rise from the Reserve Bank of Australia following favourable inflation data.
Still, against the Japanese currency, it touched a 2023 low of 88.33 yen NZDJPY=R
Overnight, data showed U.S. manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in eight months in July, while a gauge for employment fell sharply, indicating risk to the key payrolls report due on Friday are to the downside.
That slammed Wall Street and boosted bonds, prompting traders to bet there is even a 30% chance that the U.S. Federal Reserve could cut rates by 50 basis points in September as the economy slows. For all of 2024, more than three cuts have been priced in. FEDWATCH
"With the market firmly moving to a mantra that bad news is bad news for risky assets and sentiment, where swaps are pricing an element of more emergency cuts, poor U.S. job numbers will not be digested well at all," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.
The shift has been echoed in Australia where investors are pricing in a 90% probability that the current 4.35% cash rate could be cut in December. Swaps also imply a total easing of 80 basis points by the end of 2025, more than doubling in a week. 0#RBAWATCH
Bonds, however, have had a good week due to the prospect of early rate cuts. Three-year bond futures YTTc1 rallied 7 ticks to 96.37, the highest since early April. That brought their weekly gain to a whopping 31 ticks, the biggest rise since July 2023.
Ten-year bonds YTCc1 also rose 6 ticks to a four-month top of 95.97, with the weekly gain at 28 ticks.
Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Christopher Cushing
Mga Kaugnay na Asset
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.