The Australian dollar (AUD) fell about 0.70% against the US dollar (USD) on Wednesday as risk appetite declines amid renewed hostilities in the Middle East amid a lack of progress in US-Iran talks aimed at reaching a deal
AUD/USD falls on paradise demand and faint impact on GDP
AUD/USD is trading at 0.7128, after peaking at around 0.7181 as safety-seeking investors bought the US dollar after the United States and Iran exchanged strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, with the latter also attacking US assets in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
US Central Command said it attacked missile launch sites and Iranian mine-laying boats. They also attacked Qeshm Island in response to Iranian attacks.
US employment data reflects the strength of the labor market. Private companies hiring in May exceeded forecasts, with the ADP National Employment Change Report showing an raise of 122,000, beating the forecast of 117,000. Tuesday’s JOLTS report also showed an raise in job postings, pointing to resilience ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls data.
The US ISM Services PMI rose from 53.6 to 54.5 on corporate orders expecting higher prices. The ‘Prices Paid’ component increased from 70.7 to 71.3, indicating an energy shock spreading to services.
Fed officials have gone above and beyond. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said policy is “a little loose” and needs to be tight because it takes too long for inflation to return to 2%. Earlier, New York Fed President John Williams said monetary policy was “exactly in the right place” and added that he “sees no need to raise or lower interest rates at this time.”
Data from Australia showed that the economy lost some momentum in the first quarter of 2026 as GDP grew 0.3% quarter on quarter, compared with 0.9% growth in the previous quarter, below estimates of 0.5% growth. The slowdown may deepen as conflict in the Middle East and a tightening policy by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) weigh on household spending.
Going forward, investors’ eyes will be on Australia’s April trade balance and RBA Governor Michele Bullock’s speech.
AUD/USD Price Forecast: Technical Outlook
On the daily chart, the AUD/USD rate is 0.7130. The pair is trading just above the latest uncomplicated moving average cluster around 0.7117, while an lively support uptrend line is also running slightly below the price near 0.7111, suggesting buying interest near the dips. However, another rising support line is currently poking out just above the point around 0.7158, acting as immediate resistance and effectively compressing the price into a narrow consolidation band. The Relative Strength Index (14) has fallen toward the mid-40s, indicating bullish momentum is fading and the short-term bias remains broadly neutral as the pair oscillates around pockets of support and resistance.
On the other hand, initial support is seen at the 50/100/200-day uncomplicated moving average area around 0.7117, reinforced by the underlying uptrend line near 0.7111. A break below this level would expose deeper trendline support centered around 0.7087 and 0.7086. At the top, immediate resistance appears in the uptrend projection around 0.7158; a daily close above this limit would ease the current swing tone and open the door to more constructive development.
(The technical analysis for this story was written with the aid of an AI tool.)
(This story was corrected on June 3 at 21:54 GMT to show that the Australian economy lost momentum in the first quarter of 2026, not in 2025, and that GDP grew by 0.9% instead of 0.8% in the last quarter of 2025. This also corrects an error in the name of RBA Governor Michele Bullock.)
Today’s Australian dollar price
The table below shows the current percentage change of the Australian Dollar (AUD) against the major listed currencies. The Australian dollar was strongest against the New Zealand dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | BOOR | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.28% | 0.34% | 0.06% | 0.42% | 0.71% | 1.12% | 0.60% | |
| EUR | -0.28% | 0.06% | -0.20% | 0.13% | 0.43% | 0.83% | 0.33% | |
| GBP | -0.34% | -0.06% | -0.26% | 0.06% | 0.36% | 0.75% | 0.22% | |
| JPY | -0.06% | 0.20% | 0.26% | 0.31% | 0.63% | 0.99% | 0.49% | |
| BOOR | -0.42% | -0.13% | -0.06% | -0.31% | 0.33% | 0.71% | 0.16% | |
| AUD | -0.71% | -0.43% | -0.36% | -0.63% | -0.33% | 0.39% | -0.22% | |
| NZD | -1.12% | -0.83% | -0.75% | -0.99% | -0.71% | -0.39% | -0.52% | |
| CHF | -0.60% | -0.33% | -0.22% | -0.49% | -0.16% | 0.22% | 0.52% |
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 Australian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent AUD (base)/USD (quote).
