SYDNEY: The Australian dollar was little troubled by soft data on Thursday as fears of a tariff-induced slowdown in the US lifted Treasuries and dragged down the greenback, while the kiwi was perched within a whisker of a seven-month high.
The Aussie was flat at $0.6493, having risen 0.5% overnight as the US dollar slid, offsetting the impact from a weak GDP report on Wednesday.
It was, however, still stuck within the recent range of $0.6360 and $0.6537. The kiwi dollar inched up 0.1% on Thursday to $0.6028.
It rallied 0.5% overnight and is now just a touch below the seven-month peak of $0.6054 hit earlier this week. Data released on Wednesday showed the US services sector contracted for the first time in nearly a year, while private payrolls increased far less than expected in May.
Treasuries rallied as investors added to their bets of a US rate cut in September, while the greenback fell to six-week lows.
Down Under, a slew of soft economic data this week had traders wagering the Reserve Bank of Australia will ease again as early as July, and they see rates bottoming around 2.85% by early next year.
On Thursday, figures showed Australian household spending rose only marginally in April, a further sign consumption was still tepid despite a drop in borrowing rates and cooling inflation.
“The momentum of the HSI (Household Spending Index) in recent months continues to fade, and is also broadly consistent with retail sales,” said George Tharenou, an economist at UBS.
Australian dollar out of gas as economy sputters
“The risks of a July cut have increased materially.” Other data showed Australia’s surplus on traded goods narrowed in April as exports of gold pulled back from record highs.
Exports to China remained resilient.
Across the Tasman Sea, with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand having already cut a hefty 225 bps this cycle to the neutral zone, markets are betting it is most likely to deliver one last rate cut in August.
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