The jump in oil prices to above $33 per barrel helped to lift commodity-linked currency pairs which included the Aussie and Kiwi Dollars, as well as the Canadian Loonie. In early trade in Europe, the Australian Dollar rose nearly 0.9% and approached a 3-week peak. Meanwhile the New Zealand Dollar saw marginal gains following the Reserve Bank’s dovish sounding policy decision. The RBNZ Governor hinted at the possibility of more easing ahead given the shaky outlook for the global economy.
As reported at 10:41 am (GMT) in London, the AUD/USD was trading at $0.7084, a gain of 0.80% and near the session peak of $0.7092. The NZD/USD was up 0.53% at $0.6467; the pair has ranged from a session low of $0.6418 to $0.6488. The USD/CAD was down 0.24% to trade at C$1.4066; in today’s trade the pair ranged from C$1.4047 to C$1.4124.
Dollar Steadies on Cautious Outlook
The US Dollar has been under a bit of pressure since yesterday’s policy announcement from the Federal Reserve Bank. The Fed had said that they remained cautiously optimistic over the US economy and still anticipated gradual increases in its benchmark rate over the course of the year. Current policy and interest rates were left unchanged, largely as expected. The US Dollar Index, which traders use to gauge the strength of the greenback relative to its major peers, was lower at 98.853 .DXY, a loss of 0.05%.