Australian Dollar Gains as Risk-On Mood and Hawkish RBA Bets Boost AUD

The Australian Dollar (AUD) strengthened against most major currencies on Friday, rising 0.23% to trade near 0.6940 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European session.

The move was driven by a risk-on sentiment in broader markets, along with growing bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will maintain a hawkish stance. The positive outlook for the Aussie was also supported by a marginal decline in expectations for a hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed), which weighed on the USD.

Traders are now watching for further cues on central bank policy divergence between the RBA and the Fed, with the AUD likely to remain sensitive to risk trends and interest rate expectations.