AUDUSD jumps past 0.6700 on RBA’s hawkish surprise, US Dollar retreat

The Australian dollar has racked up sharp gains on second May. In the European session, AUD/USD is trading at 0.6691, up 0.93%. As the RBA surprises markets with a 0.25% rate hike, versus the expectation of no change in the current monetary policy. Adding strength to the Aussie pairs upside are headlines from the IMF suggesting strong Asia-Pacific growth led by China and India.

That said, the markets remain cautiously optimistic as the First Republic fears ease after JP Morgan took over the troubled US banks assets. Furthermore, recently mixed US data and consolidation ahead of the top-tier factors scheduled for release during the week also favored the upbeat sentiment, which in turn weighs on the US Dollar and yields.

NZDUSD came in second place to cheer the US Dollar's weakness amid RBNZs hawkish remarks whereas the USDJPY bucks the trend with mild gains on dovish bias surrounding the BoJ. Furthermore, EURUSD rallies ahead of the key preliminary Eurozone inflation data whereas prices of Gold remain sidelined but those of Crude Oil improve on China concerns and softer USD.

However, the Cryptocurrencies struggle to cheer the markets mildly upbeat sentiment, as well as the US Dollar, amid regulatory fears and pre-event anxiety.

Following are the latest moves of the key assets:

• Brent oil prints mild gains to pare the previous days losses near $79.50.

• Gold price remains indecisive, mostly pressured, around $1,980.

• USD Index prints the first daily loss in four around 102.00.

• Wall Street closed with minor losses but the Asia-Pacific shares remain mixed. That said, equities in Europe print mild losses while those from the UK grind higher of late.

• BTCUSD and ETHUSD grind lower around $28,000 and $1,830 as we write.

RBAs unexpected move, IMF and US default woes gain attention

RBA ignored unimpressive inflation numbers and subdued employment data to trigger a stellar AUDUSD rally early Tuesday. Adding strength to the run-up could be the headlines suggesting likely upbeat growth prospects for the Asia-Pacific zone, backed by the IMF analysis. Furthermore, US debt ceiling expiration fears joined the mixed US data and pre-event consolidation to prod the US Dollar buyers.

• Strong buy: USDJPY

• Strong sell: ETHUSD, GBPUSD

• Buy: USD Index, USDCAD, Nasdaq, EURUSD

• Sell: DAX, FTSE 100, gold, BTCUSD, AUDUSD

EU inflation, second-tier US data in focus

Having witnessed a notable move during the early hours of the day, market players may witness cautious performance ahead of the first estimations of the Eurozone inflation and the US Factory Orders. Furthermore, chatter around the US debt ceiling and growth, as well as central bank rate hikes, could also entertain market players.