Aussie Dollar Inches Higher on Weak US Data

AUD

The Aussie dollar finds ground against the majors, largely shrugging off the turmoil in Venezuela, creating a strong start to the year. Asian Equities finished up mixed, with the ASX closing flat but the SHANGHAI COMP closed up 1.4%. Commodities Faired well too, with Oil finishing up 1.8%, Natural Gas down 6.5%, Gold up 2.5%, Silver up 4.6%, Iron Ore down 0.2% and Copper up 5.3%. Chinese RatingDog  Services PMI came out as expected at 52. A quiet day for data until tomorrow when our CPI is set to be released which is expected to set the pace for the year; possibly fueling further rate hike speculations.
 

USD

The AUDUSD staunches higher, not focusing on geopolitical fears but powered by underperforming data, opening this morning at a rate of 0.6714. Wall St was bullish into the close with the NASDAQ down 0.6%, S&P 500 is up 0.7% and the DOW JONES finished up 1.4%. US ISM manufacturing fell short last night, with their PMI falling to 47.9, expected at 48.3 from 48.2. Manufacturing Prices also where short, coming in as previous at 58.5, expected to increase to 59. This capped off a tumultuous year for US manufacturing, being the lowest reading since October 2024. Tonight will be light on data, with US Employment Data releasing on Wednesday, which should play a large factor on how many cuts are on the table in this coming year.
 

EUR

The AUDEUR sees strong gains, reaching a 7-month high yesterday, pushing towards the 0.5740 barrier late last night, opening this morning at a rate of 0.5728. European Equities saw a strong finish, with the CAC up 0.2% and the DAX up 1.3%. It was a slow start news wise for the Europeans, with Spanish Unemployment Change coming in lower at -16.3k, expected at 5.7k from -18.8k. Today will see German Prelim CPI m/m, expected to raise from -0.2% to 0.3%, expected to be transitory from Christmas spending.
 

GBP

The AUDGBP sheds some gains, sliding over yesterday’s session opening this morning at a rate of 0.4957. British Equities finished in the green, with the FTSE finishing up 0.5%. Yesterday saw an increase in Net Lending to individuals m/m, increasing to 6.6B from 5.9B. Tonight will see Final Services PMI to be released, expected to remain at 52.1.
 

NZD

The AUDNZD has a muted 24 hours, with the pair keeping very steady, opening this morning flat at a rate of 1.1600. There was no news out yesterday and will be none today.