Australian Dollar (AUD) Weakens Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
The Australian Dollar (AUD) weakened during yesterday’s session as more of Australia faces restrictions amidst the country’s struggle to contain a spike in coronavirus cases.
Much of Australian is now back under lockdown as a worrying surge in the number of cases of the more transmissible Delta variant threatens to spiral out of control.
The Australian Dollar could be open to further losses today if Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Lowe strikes a dovish chord when he speaks later this morning.
Pound (GBP) Strengthens on UK Economic Reopening Optimism
The Pound (GBP) strengthened during Tuesday’s trading session over optimism surrounding the UK’s economic reopening from the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday evening the UK’s new health secretary, Sajid Javid said that the 19th July ‘freedom day’ would go ahead and the country would have to ‘learn to live with the virus.’
Pound investors will be looking towards the final Q1 GDP growth rate reading from the UK today. Will another upwards revision to growth in the first quarter help to boost Sterling sentiment?
Euro (EUR) Muted Despite Rising Eurozone Economic Sentiment
The Euro (EUR) was muted against many of its major rivals during yesterday’s European session as a strengthening US Dollar (USD) and the strong negative correlation between the two, limited the appeal of the single currency.
The limited upside in the Euro also came despite Eurozone data revealing economic sentiment in the bloc surged to a new 21-year high in June.
Today will see the release of the Eurozone’s consumer price index, with the Euro likely to face headwinds if inflation in the bloc slowed as expected this month.
US Dollar Strengthens on Risk-Off Trade
The US Dollar (USD) strengthened during yesterday’s session as a souring market mood bolstered the appeal for the safe-haven currency.
US treasury yields also remain steady as the Federal Reserve (Fed) remain hawkish over the US’s economic recovery.
Coming up today, USD investors will be focused on latest ADP employment figures from the US, which may offer an early indication of how the US job market fared last month, ahead of Friday’s more influential non-farm payroll figures.
Canadian Dollar (CAD) Weakens on Softening Oil Prices
The Canadian Dollar (CAD) weakened during yesterday’s session as softening oil prices limited the appeal of the commodity-correlated ‘Loonie.’
New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Weakens on Risk-Off Mood
The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) also trended lower on Tuesday, with the souring market mood limiting the appeal of the risk-sensitive ‘Kiwi.’
Data Releases
Jun 30th 09:15 AUD RBA Gov Lowe Speech
Jun 30th 11:00 NZD ANZ Business Confidence Final (Jun) -0.4
Jun 30th 16:00 GBP GDP Growth Rate Final (Q1) -1.5%
Jun 30th 19:00 EUR Inflation Rate (Jun) 1.9%
Jun 30th 22:15 USD ADP Employment Change (Jun) 600k
Jun 30th 22:30 CAD GDP (Apr) -0.8%