AUD/USD Holds Steady as RBA Shifts to Extended Hold

The Australian Dollar (AUD) is holding steady against its major currency pairs on Thursday but remains nearly flat against the US Dollar (USD), trading at around 0.6948 in early European trade.

Despite its resilience, market experts believe that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) may have hiked its Official Cash Rate (OCR) four times this year by 25 basis points to 4.6% as a last resort and will likely shift to an extended hold.

The RBA's decision was unanimous, citing materialized upside risks to inflation but acknowledging slowing economic growth, easing labor-market conditions, and falling housing prices in its accompanying statement.

However, Standard Chartered's analysts detected a more dovish tone from Governor Bullock at the press conference, who indicated that a rate hike and hold were discussed in the meeting and did not emphasize the possibility of another rate hike in Q4.