July
Relief rally sweeps market after cool inflation tempers rate fears
Shares had the best day since 2022, the Aussie dollar fell, and bond yields tumbled after core inflation prompted traders to rapidly start pricing in a rate cut in Australia.
- Joshua Peach and Sarah Jones
ACCC wants banks to make foreign exchange calculators more accurate
The regulator has proposed changes to FX calculators to ensure banks subtract fees, so customers have genuine transparency.
- James Eyers
$A hit with longest stretch of losses in a year on China woes
The Australian dollar fell for a seventh session below US67¢ as concerns about China’s economy weigh on the currency and commodity prices.
- Joanne Tran
Why the Aussie dollar rally could just be getting started
It’s a good time for Australians to be heading overseas, with the currency’s surge to a six-month high likely to extend into the second half of this year.
- Alex Gluyas
Growing bets on Fed rate cuts boost $A to six-month high
Evidence of weaker US growth and a deteriorating job market bolstered conviction that the Fed will cut rates imminently, triggering a rally in commodities.
- Alex Gluyas
June
Yen’s free fall exposes the Fed’s grip on markets
The yen is plunging through milestone levels in rapid succession and likely won’t stop until the Federal Reserve finally pivots on rates.
- Carter Johnson and Anya Andrianova
Why now’s a good time to visit Europe (and it’s not the Olympics)
French political turmoil is good news for Australians heading to Europe with the dollar trading at its highest level against the euro in a year.
- Cecile Lefort
NAB kills its stablecoin, bankers decamp to form Ubiquity
The bank canned its digital Australian dollar, known as the AUDN, so Rob Waugh and Drew Bradford left to set up their own product, to be called Ubiquity.
- James Eyers
May
$A bulls face disappointment on long road to pandemic high
Traders hoping the Australian dollar will strengthen may be caught out as optimism over China’s rebound fades and the local economy falters.
- Matthew Burgess and Michael G. Wilson
Rally hits a wall on China growth and US inflation fears
Worries about China and hotter-than-expected business activity in the United States hit markets on Friday as traders ramped up bets against the $A.
- Updated
- Alex Gluyas
April
Why now is the time for Aussies to book a flight to Tokyo
The Australian dollar hit a near-decade high against its Japanese counterpart. But history shows such gains could quickly reverse.
- Joshua Peach
‘Nothing has been spared’ as US dollar rips through Asia
The surprising strength of the US dollar this year has caused strategists to reduce their Aussie dollar forecasts, adding to the risk of sticky inflation.
- Alex Gluyas
Aussie dips below US64¢ as Powell quashes rate cut hopes
The $A fell to its weakest since mid-November after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank needed more time to tame sticky inflation.
- Updated
- Joanne Tran and Cecile Lefort
$A hits five-month low as hopes of rate cut fade
The local currency fell to the lowest since November after surprisingly strong US retail sales data prompted traders to again taper rate cut bets for the world’s largest economy.
- Updated
- Joanne Tran and Cecile Lefort
The biggest market risk you’re probably not thinking about
Insight Investment’s Francesca Fornasari says investors cannot ignore currency markets, especially Australians who are sending billions of dollars overseas.
- Jonathan Shapiro
$A hit as strong US data dents rate cut hopes
The local currency is back below US65¢ after traders pushed back the likely timing of the first rate cut by the Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of Australia this year.
- Cecile Lefort
February
UBS bets Aussie dollar among best trades of 2024
The $5.8 trillion wealth manager expects the Australian dollar will jump 10 per cent this year, and is also betting on a rally in Chinese and Indian stocks.
- Alex Gluyas
$A slumps to eight-month low against Kiwi on rate rise bets
Traders ramped up speculation that New Zealand’s central bank will resume its tightening cycle as ANZ tipped the cash rate to hit 6pc.
- Alex Gluyas
January
Bond traders ramp up early rate cut bets as inflation cools
The latest CPI data cemented expectations of an RBA policy hold next week, but the central bank may reiterate it is ready to lift rates again if necessary.
- Cecile Lefort
Blockchain comes to bank wholesale deposits in bid to slash costs
Lenders will explore the ‘tokenisation’ of wholesale deposits to streamline capital raising processes in a pilot with Imperium Markets and the Digital Finance Co-operative Research Centre.
- James Eyers