AUD Soars as Soft US Jobs Data and Strong Q2 GDP Boost Aussie Dollar
The Australian Dollar (AUD) gained strength against the US Dollar on Wednesday as economic data from the US revealed a softer labor market. The ADP National Employment Change in August came in below forecasts, dipping to 38K from 46K.
Meanwhile, GDP figures for Q2 2026 rose by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter and 2.1% year-over-year in Australia, both exceeding expectations. However, the year-over-year figure was down from 2.5%, which won't influence the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) inflation-focused monetary policy.
US President Donald Trump warned that further attacks on Iran are possible, putting upward pressure on energy prices and global bond yields. As a result, markets continue to price in a 25-basis-point rate hike by the Federal Reserve at its September 16 meeting, with odds at 67.50%.
The AUD/USD trades at 0.7169 after hitting a daily low of 0.7121, up 0.35%. Technical analysis suggests that buyers still have the upper hand as long as the pair holds above the simple moving average cluster around 0.7026 and an ascending trend-line support zone near 0.7002-0.6897.