USD Strengthens as Powell Holds Firm

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Forex Market 

USD: Extends Gains as Powell Holds Firm

The dollar strengthened after Fed Chair Jerome Powell maintained a hawkish tone, signalling no intention to cut rates in September.

  • AUD/USD traded in a 0.6427–0.6529 range, closing near 0.6430.
  • NZD/USD fell to 0.5889 in late NY trade.
  • EUR/USD dipped to 1.1414.
  • GBP/USD slipped to 1.3229.
  • USD/JPY hit highs of 149.44.

 

AUD: Pressured by Strong USD and Soft CPI

AUD/USD fell sharply on hawkish Fed signals and weaker-than-expected Australian inflation data.

 

Key Economic Data Ahead (Sydney Time)

 

General Market

Wall Street

Wall St. closed softer:

  • Dow Jones -0.48%
  • S&P 500 -0.1%
  • Nasdaq +0.15%

U.S. 10-year yields rose 4bps to 4.37%; Brent crude climbed 1.2% to $73.40/bbl.

Asia-Pacific

  • Hang Seng -1.4%, Nikkei flat, Shenzhen flat
  • ASX +0.6% (consumer staples +1.3%, real estate +1.2%)

Europe

  • CAC +0.3%, FTSE -0.2%, DAX and Stoxx flat
  • German GDP marginally missed expectations on non-SA measures.

 

Headlines to Watch

  • Fed Chair Powell – Hawkish press conference, emphasising persistent inflation risks.
  • ADP Employment Change – Beat estimates at 104k (vs 76k expected).
  • U.S. GDP Q2 – Surprised to the upside at 3.0%, vs 2.6% expected.
  • Core PCE – Fell to 2.5% but still above forecasts.
  • BoC Rate Decision – Left rates unchanged, hinted at possible future cuts amid economic uncertainty.
  • USD Rallies Late NY Session – AUD/USD and NZD/USD hit fresh lows.

 

Mid-market rates

Currency PairMid-market Rate
AUD/USD0.6442
AUD/NZD1.0911
AUD/JPY96.20
AUD/CNY4.6287
AUD/EUR0.5635
AUD/GBP0.4863
AUD/HKD5.0573

 

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