Aussie Falls After RBA Minutes; U.S. Dollar Flat

Tuesday,   16-Apr-2019   09:46 AM (IST)

The Australian dollar fell on Tuesday in Asia after the release of the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s April meeting. The AUD/USD pair last traded at 0.7148 by 12:05 AM ET (04:05 GMT), down 0.3%. The RBA expects inflation to remain muted for some time, but suggested that it remains open to rates cut if inflation remains low and the jobless rate ticks higher. The central bank then noted that the slowdown in GDP growth contradicts the improvement in the labour market. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index was unchanged at 96.570. The dollar came under pressure earlier this week as U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the Federal Reserve over the weekend, blaming it for slowing growth and damping stock prices by tightening monetary policy. While not a major directional driver, The Empire State manufacturing index rose 6.4 points in April to a reading of 10.10, the New York Federal Reserve said Monday. That beat estimates for a reading of 6.70. In other news, comments from Federal Reserve’s officials were in focus today. Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said he expected the central bank to remain on pause until the fall of 2020. Meanwhile, Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Federal Reserve, said the U.S. Fed should let inflation run above 2% “in good times.”  The Fed's preferred inflation measure, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, is currently at 1.8%. The EUR/USD pair slipped 0.1% to 1.1302 as traders await further news on Brexit. The U.K. had originally been due to leave the EU on March 29, but the deadline has since been extended multiple times. The USD/CNY pair was up 0.04% to 6.7061. The USD/JPY pair slipped 0.1% to 111.92. Japan and the U.S. kicked off trade talks in Washington on Monday, with reports suggesting that the two sides hope to resolve “some of the issues” quickly.