Antipodean Currencies Rise Amid Risk-on Mood

(RTTNews) - The antipodean currencies such as the Australia and the New Zealand currencies strengthened against their major counterparts in the Asian session on Monday amid increased risk-on mood by the investors, after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump is "optimistic" about reaching a trade deal with China.

"The president has made it very clear he's open to a deal with China," Leavitt told reporters. "If China continues to retaliate, it's not good for China."

However, two senior White House officials told CNN that the U.S. will not reach out to China first and that Chinese President Xi Jinping must request a call with Trump.

Meanwhile, the European Union has announced that it is suspending its planned countermeasures to Trump's tariffs for 90 days.

Crude oil prices moved sharply higher after showing a lack of direction early in the session. West Texas Intermediate for May delivery surged $1.43 or to $61.50 a barrel, partly offsetting the $2.28 or 3.7 percent slump to $60.07 a barrel seen during Thursday's session.

In economic news, data from customs office showed that China's exports surged in March as businesses front loaded their orders to avoid higher U.S. tariffs, while imports declined more than expected due to weaker demand. Exports logged an annual growth of 12.4 percent in March, which was much bigger than the expected growth of 4.4 percent.

Meanwhile, imports fell 4.3 percent annually, worse than economists' forecast of 2.0 percent decrease.

As a result, the trade balance posted a surplus of $102.6 billion in March. This was well above the expected level of $74.3 billion.

In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar rose to a 4-day high of 90.60 against the yen, from Friday's closing value of 90.20. The aussie may test resistance around the 95.00 region.

Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the aussie advanced to 10-day highs of 0.6325 and 0.8756 from last week's closing quotes of 0.6285 and 0.8714, respectively. On the upside, 0.65 against the greenback and 0.91 against the loonie are seen as the next resistance levels for the aussie.

Against the euro and the NZ dollar, the aussie edged up to 1.7982 and 1.0799 from last week's closing quotes of 1.8063 and 1.0790, respectively. The next possible upside target for the aussie are seen around 1.70 against the euro and 1.10 against the kiwi.

The NZ dollar rose to more than a 4-month high of 0.5880 against the U.S. dollar, from Friday's closing value of 0.5824. The kiwi is likely to find resistance around the 0.59 region.

Against the yen and the euro, the kiwi advanced to a 10-day high of 83.93 and a 4-day high of 1.9385 from last week's closing quotes of 83.58 and 1.9502, respectively. If the kiwi extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 85.00 against the yen and 1.87 against the euro.

Looking ahead, Canada new motor vehicle sales data and wholesale sales data for February and U.S. consumer inflation expectations for March are slated for release in the New York session.