Australian Dollar Weakens as RBA Rate Cut Expectations Rise
The Australian dollar (AUD) weakened against the US dollar (USD) on Friday (August 8), after three days of gains. The AUD/USD pair weakened as traders priced in a greater than 92% probability of a 25 basis point interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) next week, which would lower the cash rate to 3.60%.
The likelihood of an RBA rate cut increased as core inflation eased to 2.7% in June, well below the RBA's 2-3% target, along with rising unemployment and slowing wage growth. Supporting this outlook, Australia's Trade Surplus widened to $5,365 million (month-on-month) in June, surpassing expectations of $3,250 million, while exports grew by 6.0% (month-on-month), signaling continued economic momentum.
According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump warned China, Australia's close trading partner, that he could impose further tariffs similar to the previously announced 25% levy on India for its purchases of Russian oil, depending on future developments. (alg)
Source: FXstreet