A$ Up Again, Firmer Commodities Helping

AUD was once again among the top performers in the G10 FX space. We got to 0.6640/45 in US trade on Tuesday, before pulling back amid equity weakness. Dips to 0.6615 were supported and we sit near 0.6625/30 in early Wednesday trade (after posting a +0.38% gain for Tuesday's session, only bettered by NZD in the G10 space).

• The broader USD index was tracking lower, but received a boost amid equity headwinds. The BBDXY ended up at 1240.80, little changed from early levels yesterday. EU equities finished down, but US equities were higher, likely helping AUD recover from lows.
• US yields finished weaker across the benchmarks, with no clear catalyst. We do have US CPI and the FOMC Mins later on Wed.
• The Bloomberg commodity index was +0.24% higher, the 8th straight gain, while the metals index rose 0.84%. Iron ore, in terms of the active Singapore contract, is back above $108/ton, another A$ support point.
• The local data calendar is empty today, but be mindful of spill over from the RBNZ decision (no change is expected). The AUD/NZD cross sits just off recent highs, last near 1.0935/40.
• In the option expiry space, note the following for NY cut later: $0.6645-55(A$2.1bln), with this strike marking near Tuesday intra-session highs.