Australian dollar loses value against a higher US dollar following conflicting data.

The Australian Dollar (AUD) fell for the second week in a row on Friday, as the US Dollar (USD) rallied following mixed S&P preliminary Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data and strong weekly Jobless Claims from the United States.

The decrease in the ASX 200 could have weakened the Aussie.

ASX 200 Index’s drop puts downward pressure on the Australian dollar. The Australian equities market suffered losses, particularly in energy and consumer industries, despite the favorable performance on Wall Street, where all three major benchmarks set Record highs.

Despite lower US Treasury yields, the US Dollar Index (DXY) has continued to rise. The US Dollar, on the other hand, experienced hurdles as the Federal Reserve (Fed) reaffirmed its projection of three interest rate decreases in 2024. The conventional agreement indicates that an easing cycle will begin in June, with the timing of the next cut determined by incoming data.

Daily Market Movers: Australian Dollar depreciates against weaker ASX 200 Index.

The Australian employment change in February jumped to 116.5K, exceeding predictions of 40.0K and the prior result of 15.3K.
Australia’s unemployment rate rose by 3.7%, which was lower than the expected 4.0% and the previous 4.1%.
The preliminary Judo Bank Services PMI increased to 53.5 from the previous 53.1. Composite PMI showed a modest gain, reaching 52.4 vs the previous 52.1.
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has left the interest rate constant at 3.45%.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept interest rates at 5.5% during Wednesday’s policy meeting. The comments made by US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell in the post-meeting press conference, which signaled a dovish posture, put additional downward pressure on the Greenback.
S&P Global Services PMI fell slightly in March to 51.7 from 52.3. The expected reading was 52.0. Manufacturing PMI increased to 52.5 from the previously forecast 51.7 and 52.2. Composite PMI fell slightly to 52.2 from 52.5 previously.
Initial jobless claims for the week ending March 15 came in at 210K, below the 215K. Expected and 212K before.
US building permits (MoM) increased to 1.518 million in February, compared to expectations of 1.495 million and 1.489 million the previous month.

The S&P Global Manufacturing PMI increased to 52.5 from the previously projected 51.7 and 52.2.

US housing starts (MoM) increased to 1.521 million from 1.374 million in February, above the market forecast of 1.425 million.
The preliminary US Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for March fell to 76.5 from 76.9. This reduction is in contrast to assumptions that it will remain stable.