AUD/USD hit a up-to-date intraday high at the start of the European session on Monday, with bulls now looking to build on the intraday upward move above the psychological 0.7000 mark amid a weaker US dollar (USD).
Despite a further escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran, a modest improvement in global risk sentiment – reflecting the overall positive tone in European equity markets – is prompting partial selling near the unthreatening haven. This, in turn, is helping the AUD/USD pair attract some bearish buyers after a compact bearish gap opening at the start of the up-to-date week.
However, any significant depreciation of the dollar seems elusive in the face of persistent geopolitical uncertainty and the revival of hawkish expectations from the US Federal Reserve (Fed). In fact, the United States carried out a ninth consecutive night of attacks on Iran, with the latter firing ballistic missiles and single-directional attack drones, targeting U.S. allies in the region. This raises the risk of a broader regional conflict.
Moreover, renewed hostilities between the US and Iran, as well as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, continue to support elevated oil prices. This, in turn, revives inflation fears and confirms market assumptions that the US central bank will raise borrowing costs by the end of this year. The forecasts represent a tailwind for US Treasury yields and should assist limit further USD losses.
On the other hand, the Australian dollar (AUD) is drawing support from the relatively hawkish stance of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and stable economic data from China. However, AUD/USD bulls may refrain from placing aggressive bets and wait for further developments around the crisis in the Middle East in the absence of relevant economic data from the US on Monday.
Today’s US dollar price
The table below shows the current percentage change of the United States Dollar (USD) against the major listed currencies. The US dollar was strongest against the Canadian dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | BOOR | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.00% | -0.12% | -0.02% | 0.03% | -0.24% | -0.22% | -0.05% | |
| EUR | -0.01% | -0.09% | -0.02% | 0.00% | -0.24% | -0.23% | -0.06% | |
| GBP | 0.12% | 0.09% | 0.09% | 0.12% | -0.13% | -0.12% | 0.03% | |
| JPY | 0.02% | 0.02% | -0.09% | 0.05% | -0.22% | -0.17% | -0.05% | |
| BOOR | -0.03% | -0.01% | -0.12% | -0.05% | -0.26% | -0.21% | -0.10% | |
| AUD | 0.24% | 0.24% | 0.13% | 0.22% | 0.26% | 0.04% | 0.20% | |
| NZD | 0.22% | 0.23% | 0.12% | 0.17% | 0.21% | -0.04% | 0.13% | |
| CHF | 0.05% | 0.06% | -0.03% | 0.05% | 0.10% | -0.20% | -0.13% |
The heat map shows the percentage changes of the major currencies relative to each other. The base currency is selected from the left column and the quote currency from the top row. For example, if you select the US dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
