In February, US factory orders increased by 0.6%, surpassing the forecast of 0.5%. This growth indicates a positive trend in the manufacturing sector.
The AUD/USD currency pair fell to 0.6250, marking a two-day low as it struggled to maintain higher levels. The decline followed announcements from President Trump regarding tariffs.
Usd Strengthens On Tariff News
The EUR/USD pair retraced to approximately 1.0800, influenced by the strengthening US Dollar after Trump’s tariff announcements. Meanwhile, gold prices remained buoyant near $3,140, supported by declining US yields.
The Prophecy token price on Binance experienced a significant drop, with over $1.8M in liquidations during recent trading. President Trump is set to unveil new reciprocal tariffs, previously delayed for 72 days.
Factory orders in the US rising by 0.6%—above the expected 0.5%—suggest that demand for manufactured goods is gaining some traction. This typically points to robust activity in domestic supply chains, hinting at better industrial output and improved sentiment in investment-heavy sectors. When this sort of data overshoots expectations, it frequently reshapes interest rate outlooks and leads to readjustments in short-term rate pricing, especially in US Dollar denominated assets.
The Dollar, in fact, gained strength after Trump’s tariff comments, pushing EUR/USD to test the lower end of its trading zone around the 1.0800 figure. From this, we interpret a short squeeze in Euro positions, possibly triggered by a hawkish shift in expected real yields or a rerating of geopolitical risk premiums. During sessions like this, flows tend to centre around USD as a safe asset benchmark, pulling attention away from the Euro and high-beta currencies.
Australian Dollar Reacts To Risk Sentiment
Speaking of high-beta, in FX, the Australian Dollar recorded losses, falling to 0.6250. Weakness here was not solely about tariffs—it likely came from a blend of risk aversion and decreased appetite for commodity exposure, particularly from Asia-Pacific investors. The timing of this move is telling: despite US economic resilience, there’s fragility in broader risk markets, reflected in the way AUD reacts under policy tension. At these levels, it’s flirting with key support from last November, which, if breached, could invite follow-through selling from macro-driven systematic funds.
On a different track, gold continues to find a floor, with spot holding above $3,100—partly due to falling yields in the US. Since real rates are a core driver for precious metals, that development makes sense. The lower yield environment implies cheaper opportunity cost to hold non-yielding assets like gold, which in turn underpins its price during trade uncertainty or policy volatility. This also suggests that positioning may have begun to lean longer again after last week’s drawdown.
Moving to crypto derivatives, the sharp drop in Prophecy token—with over $1.8 million wiped out via liquidations—signals leveraged longs caught off balance. When markets move this swiftly, it often reflects instability either on-chain or within smaller liquidity pools. Given the upcoming tariff rollout by Trump, hedging activity across decentralised platforms is likely to increase, especially among sentiment-driven traders comparing token beta to global volatility. We’ve seen that shifts in trade rhetoric do not only ripple through fiat assets but also amplify existing fragilities in less-mature contracts.
Going forward, we should stay flexible, particularly as new tariffs are expected to be detailed. Trading volumes in interest rate futures and options may spike in anticipation of retaliatory measures or counter-positioning through macro-sensitive pairs. Risk pricing is increasingly event-driven; derivatives desks may wish to consider widening spreads or shortening risk windows around announcements. Mid-week flows, especially in cross-asset vol markets, will provide the earliest clues to bigger shifts.
