Asian Intervention Boosts AUD/USD and NZD/USD Amid Dollar Weakness

The Australian and New Zealand dollars surged higher against the US dollar on Friday, driven by broad-based weakness in the greenback. This was attributed to a combination of factors, including apparent coordinated intervention from Asian foreign exchange authorities, softer-than-expected US economic data, and increased risk appetite following strong earnings reports from Microsoft and Amazon.

The suspected intervention by Japanese authorities likely involved coordination with South Korean authorities and had at least tacit support from the United States. This move came as the US dollar was already under pressure after the Federal Reserve opted against raising interest rates.

As a result, the AUD/USD and NZD/USD pairs saw significant gains on Friday, with the biggest driver being suspected intervention by Japanese authorities. The exact extent of this intervention is unclear, but its impact on currency markets was evident.