The pair started at $0.7710 in Sydney this morning, toward the lower end of yesterday’s $0.7694 to $0.7795 range, broad-based US dollar strength the main influence, with commodity currencies coming under particular pressure on falling oil prices. Early attention was on RBA Assistant Governor Guy Debelle’s speech at the FX Week conference in Sydney although he eventually made no comment on the aussie or monetary policy in his speech titled “FX Benchmarks.” Aussie-dollar then began to tread water off $0.7730 as the market waited for the release of the Jan. labor force survey. The data were disappointing and the market resumed pricing in the possibility of a March rate cut. Aussie-dollar was slammed to $0.7656 immediately after the data were out. It extended the lows as stops were hit and tumbled to a $0.7644 low before it stopped shy of the 2015 low so far, of $0.7626, traded on Feb. 3. The pair has since stabilized off the lows and last traded at $0.7654.
