Australian Dollar Weakens After Australian GDP Data Below Expectations

The Australian dollar showed its weakness on Wednesday (7/3) morning. The decline was due to an Australian GDP data report showing a lower number than previously estimated.

The ABS Bureau of Statistics released data that Australia's GDP in December stood at 0.4%. The achievement is below the market expectation at 0.5%.

The AUD / USD currency pair shows a decline at 0.7797, where it was previously at the 0.7828 level reached in the opening session. The Australian dollar movement itself affected two events that occurred on Wednesday (7/3), in addition to the release of GDP data, as well as a speech from the Governor of Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Philip Lowe.

In his speech, Lowe said that the decline that occurs in Australian manufacturing will put a burden on the restoration of investment in business for the next few years. The RBA governor also showed signs of investment in non-mining products will decrease the share of contributions to Australia's GDP. Lowe mentioned that the reduction in the investment ratio to GDP could reach 1 to 2 percent.

In a speech made earlier this morning, Lowe also mentioned the current economic situation, he also commented on US president Donald Trump's plan to raise tariffs on metal imports. Lowe argues that the increase in tariffs could cause shocks for the global economy. Lowe explicitly stated that plans to raise import tariffs for steel and aluminum are regrettable and could be a bad policy.