Aussie dips below 0.77 line
January 18, 2021SharePrint
The Australian dollar has started the new trading week with slight losses. AUD/USD is currently trading at 0.7681, down 0.26% on the day.
US dollar on the move
The US dollar looked like the G-10 punching bag in the latter months of 2020, and the Australian dollar took full advantage by posting sharp gains. The New Year has been witness to a stronger US dollar, and this was apparent on Friday, as the US dollar pummelled the Aussie and gained 0.99% per cent. This marked AUD/USD’s strongest one-day gains since October.
The US dollar’s broad gains on Friday were even more noteworthy, given that US released soft Retail Sales reports on Friday. Headline retail sales fell by 0.7% and core retail sales was even worse, with a decline of 1.4 percent. This marked back-to-back declines for both releases. The drop in consumer spending, a key driver of economic growth, is certainly worrying. At the same time, an important takeaway fro
12/14/2020 4:49:23 PM GMT | By Joel Frank
The US dollar has seen a pick-up from lows in recent trade, which has weighed on NZD/USD.
The pair has dropped back below the 0.7100 level and now trades flat on the day close to 0.7080.
NZD/USD rallied to fresh multi-year highs at 0.7120 on Monday, but has reversed back below 0.7100 to 0.7080 in recent trade amid a broad pickup in the US dollar from lows that has seen the Dollar Index recover from the 90.40s back towards 0.9080. As things stand, NZD/USD trades pretty much flat on the day.
NZD conforms to USD dynamics
Amid a lack of New Zealand or other fundamental drivers of note coming from down under, NZD is largely trading as a function of USD on Monday. Thus, the pair was initially boosted to year-to-date highs as USD fell to year-to-date lows on vaccine optimism (US FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine over the weekend) and Brexit hopes (talks did not break down over the weekend and continue