USD up after Fed officials hinted about asset tapering, AUD also up due to rising exports

USD was up on Thursday in Asia, as the Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida commented on Wednesday that, conditions for an interest rate hike could be met in late 2022 or early 2023. Moreover, Clarida also hinted that asset tapering would possibly come later this year or earlier next year. The market is now waiting for the nonfarm payrolls to be released tomorrow. Labor market conditions will very likely determine the timeline on tapering.

AUDUSD was up bout 0.25%, currently trading at 0.7396. The upward trend was primarily due to Australia’s rising exports. June exports rose about 4% on a monthly basis, with imports growing at 1% and trade balance reaching AUD 10.5 billion.