(03 November 2020)DAILY MARKET BRIEF 2:The Australian dollar has dropped
In the commodity market, oil prices are declining but generally moving sideways after a bullish Monday. At the time of writing, WTI and Brent futures are down about 0.30% to $36.66 and $38.76, respectively. Last week, oil prices tumbled to the lowest since the end of May. Prices rallied yesterday on hopes that OPEC+ countries would delay their supply hike scheduled for January.
Gold is increasing slightly, benefiting from its safe-haven status ahead of the US election and amid the worsening pandemic. The metal is up 0.04% to $1,893. Gold is aiming for another return to $1,900 amid the general uncertainty.
In FX, the US dollar is declining, as investors argue that the interest rates will remain at historic lows no matter who wins the election. The USD Index is down 0.18% to 93.972. So far, the greenback is experiencing its worst year since 2017, as the US economy suffered the coronavirus crisis, tensions with China, a fierce election campaign, and a massive effort from the government and central bank to support a rapid recovery. EUR/USD is up 0.16% to 1.656.
The Australian dollar has dropped 0.17% versus the USD after the RBA cut the interest rate and returned to quantitative easing.
