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Aussie unaffected by government change

By Debabrata Das

11:39, 25 May 2022

Australia’s new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese
The Aussie’s fate is tied to sentiment in China, not government policy, say experts – Photo: Getty Images

The Australian dollar (AUD), commonly known as the Aussie, pared the gains it made against the US dollar earlier this week after a new Labor government took the reins, under new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. 

However, the gains on Monday and the subsequent fall had little to do with Australia’s change of government, according to experts who say the Aussie’s fortunes are now firmly tied to sentiment in China.

On Wednesday (25 May), the AUD/USD pair fell 0.70% to 0.7054, following news that China’s economic recovery remains shaky. 

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AUD/USD exchange rate

Policies not too dissimilar

According to Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital, the Aussie is unlikely to be affected badly as the macro policies of the Labor party are not significantly different from those of the previous coalition government. 

“Labor’s macro policies not being significantly different from the coalition’s, and its victory not being a surprise, suggests that the market reaction to the new government will be minor, and that investment markets will quickly move on to other things,” Oliver said. 

“Industry sectors likely to benefit from the change in government include clean energy, health, education, home builders and manufacturing, whereas heavy carbon emitters may lose.

“The change in government has no implications on our growth, inflation and interest rate forecasts for this year. We continue to see the RBA raising the cash rate at its June meeting by 0.4% and increasing it to 1.5%-2% by year-end,” he added. 

AUD/USD

0.63 Price
+0.190% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0078%
Short position overnight fee -0.0005%
Overnight fee time 21:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.00010

EUR/USD

1.05 Price
-0.020% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0082%
Short position overnight fee -0.0000%
Overnight fee time 21:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.00006

USD/JPY

148.94 Price
-0.010% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee 0.0118%
Short position overnight fee -0.0200%
Overnight fee time 21:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.010

GBP/USD

1.21 Price
-0.120% 1D Chg, %
Long position overnight fee -0.0047%
Short position overnight fee -0.0035%
Overnight fee time 21:00 (UTC)
Spread 0.00013

Looser fiscal policy expected

Marcel Thieliant, senior Japan, Australia and New Zealand economist at Capital Economics, largely agrees.

“A Labor government will probably keep fiscal policy looser than the previous coalition government, putting more pressure on the RBA to hike interest rates. But while a Labor government will make greater efforts to decarbonise the economy, the bulk of mining output is exported so this won’t have a big impact on the mining industry. And we doubt Labor will be able to end the trade war with China,” he said. 

“Indeed, with the federal budget deficit much narrower than the Treasury was anticipating just two months ago, Labor will find it hard to resist the temptation to keep expanding public spending,” Thieliant added. 

Aussie’s fate tied to China

Similarly, according to experts at Dutch bank ING, the movement in the Aussie this week has been “fully motivated” by external factors. 

“The result of the election in Australia does not appear to be a straightforward positive or negative for the AUD, also considering it was in line with projections… although it is possible that Labor will represent a slightly more fiscally supportive government than its predecessors, we don’t see many implications for financial markets from this election result,” ING said in a note

“AUD remains strictly tied to China-related sentiment (which has improved lately) and global risk dynamics. For now, AUD/USD should be able to hold above 0.7100, although some material downside risks persist,” the note added. 

Markets in this article

AUD/USD
AUD/USD
0.63127 USD
0.00119 +0.190%

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The difference between trading assets and CFDs
The main difference between CFD trading and trading assets, such as commodities and stocks, is that you don’t own the underlying asset when you trade on a CFD.
You can still benefit if the market moves in your favour, or make a loss if it moves against you. However, with traditional trading you enter a contract to exchange the legal ownership of the individual shares or the commodities for money, and you own this until you sell it again.
CFDs are leveraged products, which means that you only need to deposit a percentage of the full value of the CFD trade in order to open a position. But with traditional trading, you buy the assets for the full amount. In the UK, there is no stamp duty on CFD trading, but there is when you buy stocks, for example.
CFDs attract overnight costs to hold the trades (unless you use 1-1 leverage), which makes them more suited to short-term trading opportunities. Stocks and commodities are more normally bought and held for longer. You might also pay a broker commission or fees when buying and selling assets direct and you’d need somewhere to store them safely.
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