RBA buys $2.3 bln of government bonds as part of its QE programme

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

As a part of its quantitative easing (QE) programme announced last Thursday, the Reserve Bank of Australia bought A$4 billion ($2.3 billion) in local government bonds on Monday.

Key details

Buys A$891M Of May 2021 notes, avg yield 0.2655%

Buys A$1.15B Of Dec. 2021 notes, avg yield 0.2653%

Buys A$850M Of Apr. 2027 notes, avg yield 0.5679%

Buys A$1.11B Of Nov. 2028 notes, avg yield 0.803%

On Friday, the RBA purchased A$5 billion worth of government bonds to ensure enough liquidity in the financial system, as the country battles the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

Australia PM Morrison said earlier today that Australia has 1,609 cases of coronavirus.

AUD/USD reaction

AUD/USD is consolidating its bounce from 0.5700, now trading around 0.5750 after the bulls failed to takeout the 0.5780 resistance area amid broad risk-aversion.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

EUR/USD weakens below 1.1700 as Middle East tensions drive US Dollar strength

The EUR/USD pair trades with mild losses around 1.1685, the lowest since late January, during the early Asian session on Tuesday. The US Dollar gathers strength against the Euro as escalating tensions in the Middle East boost safe-haven currencies. The preliminary reading of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices from the Eurozone will be published later on Tuesday.

GBP/USD hits new yearly lows near 1.3300

GBP/USD adds to the recent bearish tone, approaching to the key 1.3300 support to reach fresh YTD troughs against the backdrop of the robust performance of the US Dollar. Indeed, Cable’s decline comes amid the firm demand for the safe-haven space in the wake of the US and Israel attacks to Iran.

Gold clings to gains as US-Iran conflict continues to underpin safe-haven assets

Gold retains positive bias for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to underpin safe-haven assets. However, a bullish US Dollar could keep the bullion below its highest level since late January, set on Monday, warranting caution before positioning for any further appreciation.