Aussie Dollar Drops as US and Iran Exchange Fire

AUD

The Australian Dollar opens lower this morning against the majors after risk sentiment soured overnight following news that missile fire had been exchanged between the US and Iran. Australian Goods Trade balance also came through lower yesterday at -1.84B from forecasts of 4.38B. Asian equities closed higher on Thursday, the Hang Seng +1.5% and the Nikkei +5.6% having been closed for holidays Monday through Wednesday. The ASX ended +1.0%. Commodities closed mostly in the red with Gold flat, Silver -0.2%, Iron Ore -0.5%, and Copper -0.4%. Nothing set for release today for Aussie news however we may see some data out of China with their Trade Balance and USD-Denominated Trade Balance with both set as tentative. 

USD

AUDUSD retreats from its fresh highs and opens at 0.7205 after the US struck at least two locations in Iran causing risk sentiment to drop. It was also reported that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had lifted curbs on US military access to their bases and airspace. US weekly jobless claims data was also better than expected with initial claims at 200k (205k Forecasted). Wall St reacted to this news closing in the red with Dow Jones trading -.7%, the S&P 500 -.4%, and the Nasdaq -.2%. Later this evening the US April employment report is set to release and is expected to show payroll growth of +60k. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.3%. Looking ahead, next Tuesday will have US CPI inflation data.

EUR

The AUDEUR opens the day lower, with the pair sliding back under the 0.6150 barrier overnight at a rate of 0.6144. European stocks also slid into the close, with the DAX down -1%, and the CAC down -1.2%. Retail Sales m/m released yesterday at -0.1%, expected to remain at -0.3%. Later today will see ECB President Lagarde Speaking at the Bank of Spain Economic Form, which could give insights into how the ECB is looking to tackle inflation.

GBP

The AUDGBP opens slightly down this morning at a rate of 0.5318. British equities were red into the close, with the FTSE down -1.5%. UK Construction PMI data was released last night, coming in much lower at 39.7, expected at 45.8. The April data highlighted another challenging month for the UK construction sector as business activity decreased and cost inflation intensified. MPC members Taylor and Lombardelli spoke last night, both not delivering anything relevant to markets. BOE Gov Bailey is speaking tonight about the Bank of England, which could give some insight into their future monetary policy decisions.

NZD

The AUDNZD opens the day lower, with the pair seeing a small decline since yesterday, opening this morning at a rate of 1.2138. There was no data out yesterday, and none for the remainder of the week.