Australian Dollar trades broadly firm amid hawkish RBA bets
- The Australian Dollar gains sharply against the US Dollar even as the Fed stressed to hold interest rates steady for longer.
- The US Q1 GDP grows 2% Year-on-Year, misses 2.3% estimates.
- Market participants expect the RBA to raise interest rates again in May.
The Australian Dollar (AUD) reflects a mixed performance against its major currency peers, trading 0.5% higher to near 0.7150 against the US Dollar (USD) during the early North American session on Thursday. The outlook of the antipodean remains firm amid expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will deliver more interest rate hikes during the year.
Australian Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Australian Dollar (AUD) against listed major currencies today. Australian Dollar was the strongest against the US Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.13% | -0.26% | -2.12% | -0.08% | -0.46% | -0.62% | -0.87% | |
| EUR | 0.13% | -0.09% | -2.04% | 0.06% | -0.30% | -0.46% | -0.72% | |
| GBP | 0.26% | 0.09% | -1.93% | 0.15% | -0.20% | -0.36% | -0.63% | |
| JPY | 2.12% | 2.04% | 1.93% | 2.10% | 1.72% | 1.51% | 1.26% | |
| CAD | 0.08% | -0.06% | -0.15% | -2.10% | -0.39% | -0.56% | -0.80% | |
| AUD | 0.46% | 0.30% | 0.20% | -1.72% | 0.39% | -0.15% | -0.40% | |
| NZD | 0.62% | 0.46% | 0.36% | -1.51% | 0.56% | 0.15% | -0.26% | |
| CHF | 0.87% | 0.72% | 0.63% | -1.26% | 0.80% | 0.40% | 0.26% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Australian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent AUD (base)/USD (quote).
Market experts are of the view that the RBA will raise interest rates again in May as inflationary pressures in Australia have accelerated further.
On Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that Q1 Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth was in line with estimates at 1.4%, significantly higher from 0.6% seen in the last quarter of 2025. On an annualized basis, the CPI data arrived higher at 4.1%, as expected, from the previous reading of 3.6%.
According to analysts at Westpac, “A May hike is locked in, and we hold to our base case that there will be two further rate hikes, in June and August," Reuters reported.
In the March policy meeting, the RBA raised its Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.1% and the stated that inflationary pressures were already high before the spike in oil prices amid Middle East conflicts.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar underperforms its major peers even as the Federal Reserve (Fed) has stressed the need to hold interest rates at their current levels for longer amid global market uncertainty.
On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in the press conference after leaving interest rates unchanged that the “current policy stance is appropriate,” warning that “Developments in the Middle East are contributing to uncertainty.”
On the economic data front, the US flash Q1 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth has arrived at 2% on an annualized basis, lower than estimates of 2.3%, but higher than the previous reading of 0.5%.
(This story was corrected at 12:55 GMT to say in the second bullet that the US Q1 GDP grows 2% YoY, not 2.3%)
RBA FAQs
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) sets interest rates and manages monetary policy for Australia. Decisions are made by a board of governors at 11 meetings a year and ad hoc emergency meetings as required. The RBA’s primary mandate is to maintain price stability, which means an inflation rate of 2-3%, but also “..to contribute to the stability of the currency, full employment, and the economic prosperity and welfare of the Australian people.” Its main tool for achieving this is by raising or lowering interest rates. Relatively high interest rates will strengthen the Australian Dollar (AUD) and vice versa. Other RBA tools include quantitative easing and tightening.
While inflation had always traditionally been thought of as a negative factor for currencies since it lowers the value of money in general, the opposite has actually been the case in modern times with the relaxation of cross-border capital controls. Moderately higher inflation now tends to lead central banks to put up their interest rates, which in turn has the effect of attracting more capital inflows from global investors seeking a lucrative place to keep their money. This increases demand for the local currency, which in the case of Australia is the Aussie Dollar.
Macroeconomic data gauges the health of an economy and can have an impact on the value of its currency. Investors prefer to invest their capital in economies that are safe and growing rather than precarious and shrinking. Greater capital inflows increase the aggregate demand and value of the domestic currency. Classic indicators, such as GDP, Manufacturing and Services PMIs, employment, and consumer sentiment surveys can influence AUD. A strong economy may encourage the Reserve Bank of Australia to put up interest rates, also supporting AUD.
Quantitative Easing (QE) is a tool used in extreme situations when lowering interest rates is not enough to restore the flow of credit in the economy. QE is the process by which the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) prints Australian Dollars (AUD) for the purpose of buying assets – usually government or corporate bonds – from financial institutions, thereby providing them with much-needed liquidity. QE usually results in a weaker AUD.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse of QE. It is undertaken after QE when an economic recovery is underway and inflation starts rising. Whilst in QE the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) purchases government and corporate bonds from financial institutions to provide them with liquidity, in QT the RBA stops buying more assets, and stops reinvesting the principal maturing on the bonds it already holds. It would be positive (or bullish) for the Australian Dollar.