AUD/USD surges to near 0.6420 as Trump expects de-escalation in US-China trade war
AUD/USD gains sharply to near 0.6420 as the US Dollar gives up intraday gains.
US President Trump sees a de-escalation in the trade war with Beijing.
Investors await the preliminary US S&P Global PMI data for April.
The AUD/USD pair recovers strongly to near 0.6420 on Wednesday’s European session. The Aussie pair bounces back after a sharp correction to near 0.6350 earlier in the day from an over four-month high of 0.6440 posted on Tuesday.
The Australian Dollar (AUD) strengthens as Washington has expressed confidence in de-escalation in a trade war with China. The AUD is a proxy play of the Chinese economy, given the significant reliance of the Australian economy on its exports to China.
Australian Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Australian Dollar (AUD) against listed major currencies today. Australian Dollar was the strongest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.24% | 0.22% | 0.28% | 0.14% | -0.68% | -0.29% | 0.57% | |
| EUR | -0.24% | -0.03% | 0.05% | -0.11% | -0.86% | -0.55% | 0.31% | |
| GBP | -0.22% | 0.03% | 0.08% | -0.08% | -0.84% | -0.51% | 0.37% | |
| JPY | -0.28% | -0.05% | -0.08% | -0.14% | -0.85% | -0.60% | 0.31% | |
| CAD | -0.14% | 0.11% | 0.08% | 0.14% | -0.72% | -0.41% | 0.44% | |
| AUD | 0.68% | 0.86% | 0.84% | 0.85% | 0.72% | 0.33% | 1.18% | |
| NZD | 0.29% | 0.55% | 0.51% | 0.60% | 0.41% | -0.33% | 0.88% | |
| CHF | -0.57% | -0.31% | -0.37% | -0.31% | -0.44% | -1.18% | -0.88% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Australian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent AUD (base)/USD (quote).
On Tuesday, United States (US) President Donald Trump signaled that discussions with China are going well, adding that he thinks they will reach a deal. Trump said that tariffs on Beijing “would not be as high as 145%, but they wouldn’t be zero”. Market participants took Trump’s comments as a meaningful step towards closing a deal with China. Such a scenario will be a win-win for both the largest powerhouses of the world.
Meanwhile, China is open to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with respect and mutual trust. Beijing has urged the US to stop making threats if it wants a deal. “This is not the right way to deal with China, and it is not feasible,” Chinese ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said and added, “The US should conduct dialogue with China on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.”
On the US Dollar (USD) front, the US Dollar Index (DXY) has surrendered its initial gains and falls back to near 99.00 even though fears of an intense trade war between the US and China have eased and Trump has backed away market expectations that he can sack Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell.
In Wednesday’s session, investors will focus on the flash US S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for April, which will be published at 13:45 GMT.
US-China Trade War FAQs
Generally speaking, a trade war is an economic conflict between two or more countries due to extreme protectionism on one end. It implies the creation of trade barriers, such as tariffs, which result in counter-barriers, escalating import costs, and hence the cost of living.
An economic conflict between the United States (US) and China began early in 2018, when President Donald Trump set trade barriers on China, claiming unfair commercial practices and intellectual property theft from the Asian giant. China took retaliatory action, imposing tariffs on multiple US goods, such as automobiles and soybeans. Tensions escalated until the two countries signed the US-China Phase One trade deal in January 2020. The agreement required structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime and pretended to restore stability and trust between the two nations. However, the Coronavirus pandemic took the focus out of the conflict. Yet, it is worth mentioning that President Joe Biden, who took office after Trump, kept tariffs in place and even added some additional levies.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House as the 47th US President has sparked a fresh wave of tensions between the two countries. During the 2024 election campaign, Trump pledged to impose 60% tariffs on China once he returned to office, which he did on January 20, 2025. With Trump back, the US-China trade war is meant to resume where it was left, with tit-for-tat policies affecting the global economic landscape amid disruptions in global supply chains, resulting in a reduction in spending, particularly investment, and directly feeding into the Consumer Price Index inflation.