AUD/USD Steady, But A$ Continues to Outperform Other Majors

AUD/USD starts today close to the level we were at this time yesterday, 0.7175. Equity weakness curbed AUD/USD performance, but the A$ remains a strong outperformer on crosses.

• US and EU equities were down, but the US VIX index still edged down to 25.70%, aiding yen underperformance against the higher beta plays. Firmer US data, particularly the ISM print, and Fed speak playing down recession risks, helped at the margin.
• AUD/JPY is up over 1% in the past 24 hours, getting to 93.60, before drifting down to 93.35/40, which is where we open this morning. Higher core yields also weighed on JPY performance.
• AUD/NZD continued to trend higher, getting close to 1.1080, which is around multi week highs. Yesterday's slight Australian Q1 GDP beat helping keep momentum positive.
• Commodities were mostly firmer, with copper (+0.76%) and Iron ore up ($133/$134/tonne) but remaining within recent ranges.
• On the data front today is the April trade balance. Exports and imports are both expected to rise by 1%, while the trade surplus is forecast at $9000mn, down slightly from last month.