CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The commodity currencies such as Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars strengthened against their major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday, as commodity prices rallied.
Oil prices hit a fresh four-month high, driven by a weaker dollar, looming Iran concerns and disruption to crude production and exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Benchmark Brent crude futures surged 2 percent to $68.69 a barrel while WTI crude futures were up 1.9 percent at $64.38.
There are fresh concerns over supply disruptions after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran to agree to a nuclear deal or face potential military action.
In response, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country's armed forces were ready 'with their fingers on the trigger' to 'immediately and powerfully respond' to any aggression by land or sea.
Iran rejected any call for negotiations through threat and reiterated its earlier stance that it was fully ready for any confrontation with the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that 'a massive Armada' is heading towards Iran. Trump suggested that Iran should begin negotiations regarding its nuclear program and warned that if Iran fails to do so, a U.S. attack this time will be far worse than 2025 strikes.
Gold and silver prices also catapulted to a new record high as concerns rise that the U.S.-Iran conflict could develop to a full-blown war in the Middle East, triggering investors to accumulate safe-haven metals.
The U.S. Fed announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged amid elevated uncertainty about the economic outlook. CME Group's FedWatch Tool suggests investors currently expect the Fed to keep rates on hold until after Fed Chair Jerome Powell steps down in May.
The Australian dollar traded higher after hotter-than-expected Australian inflation data, released on Wednesday, lifted the odds of a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate hike as early as next week.
Rates are expected to reach 3.85% by May, with markets pricing over a 70% possibility of a 25bp RBA rate hike.
In economic news, Australia's export prices increased 3.2% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) in Q4 2025, the first increase in three quarters and the biggest gain in a year, following a 0.9% decline in Q3.
In the meantime, import prices increased by 0.9%, reversing a 0.4% reduction in Q3 and above forecasts for a 0.2% decline.
The NZ dollar traded higher after the release of positive New Zealand Trade Balance data.
Data from Statistics New Zealand showed that New Zealand posted a merchandise trade surplus of NZ$52 million in December. That beat forecasts for a surplus of NZ$30 million following the downwardly revised NZ$335 million deficit in November.
Exports rose 15 percent on year to NZ$991 million in December to NZ$7.7 billion. Imports climbed an annual 15 percent to NZ$975 million in December 2025 to NZ$7.6 billion.
In the Asian trading today, the Australian dollar rose to a 3-year high of 0.7095 against the U.S. dollar and nearly a 5-year high of 0.9591 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.7041 and 0.9547, respectively. If the aussie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.71 against the greenback and 0.96 against the loonie.
Against the euro and the yen, the aussie climbed to nearly a 1-year high of 1.6897 and a 6-day high of 108.57 from Wednesday's closing quotes of 1.6978 and 108.02, respectively. The aussie may test resistance around 1.67 against the euro and 110.00 against the yen.
The aussie advanced to a 3-day high of 1.1647 against the NZ dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 1.1616. On the upside, 1.17 is seen as the next resistance level for the aussie.
The NZ dollar rose to nearly a 7-month high of 0.6093 against the U.S. dollar and more than a 4-month high of 1.9776 against the euro, from yesterday's closing value of 0.6061 and 1.9721, respectively. If the kiwi extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 0.61 against the greenback and 1.95 against the euro.
Against the yen, the kiwi advanced to a 6-day high of 93.24 from Wednesday's closing value of 92.99. On the upside, 94.00 is seen as the next resistance level for the kiwi.
The Canadian dollar rose to more than a 1-year high of 1.3510 against the U.S. dollar and a 3-day high of 113.31 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.3557 and 113.15, respectively. If the loonie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.34 against the greenback and 115.00 against the yen
Against the euro, the loonie edged up to 1.6189 from Wednesday's closing value of 1.6208. The loonie may test resistance around the 1.60 region.
Looking ahead, Eurozone economic sentiment for January is due to be released at 5:00 am ET in the European session.
In the New York session, U.S. and Canada trade data for November, U.S. weekly jobless claims data, U.S. factory orders and wholesale inventories for November are slated for release.
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