Antipodean Currencies Rise On US-China Trade Deal Impact

(RTTNews) - The antipodean currencies such as the Australia and the New Zealand dollars strengthened against their major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday, amid easing fears of a prolonged trade global war after news that the U.S. and China have agreed to drastically reduce the massive tariffs on each other's goods by 115 percent while retaining an additional 10 percent tariff.

The White House said the 34 percent reciprocal tariffs on U.S. and Chinese goods will be suspended for 90 days beginning May 14. Both nations also agreed to establish a mechanism to continue important discussions about trade and economics.

Crude oil prices traded higher, riding optimism about the outlook for demand after the U.S. and China reached their trade deal. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery jumped $0.93 or 1.5 percent to $61.95 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is now expected to cut the cash rate to roughly 3.1% by the end of the year, up from a previous forecast of 2.85%. However, the RBA is expected to decrease interest rates by 25 basis points at its upcoming policy meeting.

In economic news, data from NAB showed that Australia business confidence improved in April, while conditions deteriorated due to weaker profitability. The business confidence index rose to -1 in April from -3 in March but remained negative.

The business conditions index dropped to 2 from 3 a month ago. The fall was driven by a 4 point drop in profitability. Trading conditions eased slightly by one point and employment intentions was steady at 4.

Investors await the U.S. Labour Department's April consumer price inflation data later in the day for more economic cues.

The report may show headline and core CPI remained sticky in April and unchanged from the prior month, threatening interest-rate cuts.

After the U.S. and China on Monday announced an agreement to drastically reduce tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, major Wall Street banks and traders are now pricing in only two rate cuts for 2025, while significantly pushing back the expected window for the next rate cut.

In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar rose to 94.84 against the yen and 1.7319 against the euro, from yesterday's closing quotes of 94.48 and 1.7412, respectively. The aussie may test resistance around 96.00 against the yen and 1.70 against the euro.

The aussie advanced to 0.8958 against the Canadian dollar, from an early 4-day low of 0.8896. On the upside, 0.91 is seen as the next resistance level for the aussie.

Against the U.S. and the New Zealand dollars, the aussie edged up to 0.6417 and 1.0894 from Monday's closing quotes of 0.6373 and 1.0873, respectively. If the aussie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.66 against the greenback and 1.10 against the kiwi. The NZ dollar rose to 0.5894 against the U.S. dollar and 87.08 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.5861 and 86.90, respectively. If the kiwi extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.60 against the greenback and 88.00 against the yen.

Against the euro, the kiwi advanced to 1.8861 from Monday's closing value of 1.8932. The kiwi is likely to find resistance around the 1.87 region.

Looking ahead, Germany's ZEW economic confidence survey results for May are due to be released at 5:00 am ET in the European session. Economists forecast the economic sentiment index to rise to +9.8 in May from -14.0 in April.

In the New York session, U.S. NFIB Business Optimism Index for April and U.S. CPI for April are slated for release.