Ella 
The Australian dollar (AUD) maintained its upward momentum for a second straight session on Thursday, likely buoyed by positive employment data from Australia. Meanwhile, the dollar fell sharply after the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates at 5.5% at its policy meeting on Wednesday. The decision provided support for AUD/USD. In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell’s speech at the post-meeting press conference maintained a dovish stance, which put further downward pressure on AUD/USD.
Australian shares lost their day’s gains and fell into negative territory. This may limit the Australian dollar’s gains. However, in early trading this trading day, the ASX 200 index rose by nearly 1.0%, in line with the rebound of US stocks in the previous trading day.
The U.S. dollar index gapped downward on Thursday after falling sharply in the previous trading day. The dollar fell on lower U.S. Treasury yields, which could be affected by the Federal Reserve’s reiteration of three interest rate cuts in 2024.
